


Love Comes In Colors I Can't Deny

by TheLoneliestofAll



Category: RWBY
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Romance, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-02-18 00:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 72
Words: 54,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2327933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLoneliestofAll/pseuds/TheLoneliestofAll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of cute fluffy moments. Contains shipping/friendshipping! There will be no update schedule. First 64 chapters are almost all Jaune ships, afterwards it gets a lot more gay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Red: The Most Passionate Color - Redux

Red was the color of passion, it was the color of romance, and it was the color of her lips. They would probably be classified as strawberry red, really, but his mind was just a little too preoccupied to make certain of that as she pushed him up against the wall and kissed him with every ounce of energy she had. She was inexperienced, but so was he, and to him her lips were everything. Every single second, every moment he had ever lived, every single bit of happiness he ever felt. They were all that and more. Ruby loved it, that much was apparent. She was a passionate person, she loved to be in the action. Whether that action was fighting Grimm or doing things some people would consider indecent, she would always fling herself into it with gusto. She mewled, almost musically, as Jaune's hands found their way onto a part of her that they had never even dared to touch before.

Jaune was certain that if her sister ever found out, she would cut off more than just the offending appendages, but Ruby had no intention of stopping. She shifted, and followed a combination of her instincts and what she learned from movies, swung her leg up to Jaune's side. He caught her thigh and pulled her in even closer. She found that she loved the feeling of their current position. She loved it a lot. She leaned away from him a small moment to speak. "Pull me up." He grabbed her other thigh, and she wrapped her legs completely around his torso. He moved his hands to an even better position firmly on her butt as her weight settled completely on him. She kissed him with feverish zeal, and, considering that his knees were getting weak, Jaune figured that it was probably a good idea to continue in a more comfortable position.

"Ruby, we're better off continuing on the bed, don't you think?" She let out a breathy laugh, and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah of course. But you're not letting go of me, you got that?" He smiled an affirmative, and with a careful step tried to make his way over to her and Weiss' improvised bunk. Considering how most of his vision was taken up by the little reaper clinging to him like a barnacle, it was perhaps inevitable that his foot caught Zwei's chew toy, and he tripped backwards; falling onto Blake's bed. They both cried out in alarm as their impact shook the shoddy construction, sure that Yang's bed would fall on them. Their lives flashed before their eyes as the precarious supports slowly settled once again.

A brief pause, and they laughed at the situation, relief that neither had accidentally knocked a book out of place replacing their terror. "That was intense," Jaune said, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. Ruby had to agree with him, she hadn't intended to get swept away like that. It just happened. As all of their other moments had, now that she considered it. She leaned down and pecked his lips sweetly, and it was then she realized that she was still on top of him. She smirked lasciviously, until a stray thought struck out against the building whirlwind of romance in her mind.

"Hey, Jaune, do you think we're moving too fast?" Jaune glanced up at the bottom of Yang's bed in thought, trying to consider if they really were, despite the temptation currently sitting on top of him.

"I don't know. I've been fine with the pace so far. Do- do you think we should slow it down?" Ruby caught the hints of uncertainty in his voice. She shrugged in response.

"Not if we're both comfortable with it all, right? We should just do what we want, as long as both of us are cool with it."

"Yeah, I agree." He seemed to be growing even more aware of his current situation, and the position they were currently in as a result of it. Ruby caught that, and her lascivious smirk returned, and he cleared his suddenly very, very dry throat in a nervous haze.

"So then, you wouldn't mind if we picked up where we left off, would you? Because I was really liking where we were going with that." At Jaune's stunned nod, she bit her lip and hitched his shirt up slightly, and that was the moment he realized he would be getting more than just a bit lucky.


	2. White: The Purest Color

It was twelve in the morning, and the two people currently inhabiting team RWBY’s dorm should have been in bed. But of course they weren't in bed, after all who in their right mind would pass up the opportunity to spend some alone time with their lover. Weiss and Jaune were cuddling in the former's bed and asking each other questions, this has been a thing for them ever since they started seeing each other. Despite how often they did this, they still haven’t even scraped the surface. They were too scared of asking the more ‘intimate’ questions as their relationship was quite new, so they often found themselves asking simple questions that had easy answers. “What’s your favorite color?” Jaune asked. Weiss blushed. Jaune loved it when she blushed. Her pale complexion made it very obvious when she blushed, and it just served to make her ten times cuter, if that was even possible.

“White. Because it’s the purest color.” Weiss answered shyly. She had never been asked a question such as that before. To most people, knowing someone’s favorite color wasn't a very intimate thing. But for someone like Weiss, who lived most of her life as a lonely introvert; it was a very intimate thing. Something she would lie about if she was ever asked because she found it embarrassing. Because honestly, who’s favorite color is white? It’s more like a lack of color if anything. Or at least, that’s how she saw it.

“White huh? Is that why you always wear that outfit?” Jaune asked. She blushed once again and smiled faintly, burying her face into his chest.

“Yes. And also because it makes me look cute.”

“You’re always cute Princess.” Jaune kissed her on the forehead, brushing his fingers through her beautiful white silver hair. “We should go to sleep, the rest of your team will be back tomorrow and I want to wake up early enough to get back to my team’s dorm so there isn't any misunderstanding.” Weiss groaned in protest, sinking further into Jaune’s arms.

“Do we have to? What’s the point in cuddling if you aren't awake to experience it?” Jaune laughed at how cute she was being, and kissed her on the cheek.

“It’s just as great when you're asleep, trust me!”

“Okay, but if I’m not covered in warmth and happiness in my dreams I’m going to be so disappointed!” Weiss pouted in mock sadness. Jaune smiled at her and kissed her forehead once again. Weiss gave him a happy look, and contentedly closed her eyes. “I-I love you, Jaune.”

“I love you too, Weiss.”


	3. Learning Lessons Is Painful

“What were you thinking, Red,” Jaune shouted! Ruby just looked back at him, with a sad expression on her face. Ruby was currently lying in a hospital bed, both of her legs in casts and tears falling from her eyes. Her friends surrounded her, all of them angry and disappointed. Jaune sat closest to her, crying his eyes out. “That was by far, the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do,” Jaune paused, wiping tears from his eyes, “You could have broken more than just your legs, hell you could have died!” Ruby was staring at her bed sheets now, she didn’t want to see the pain in his eyes.

“I hate to say it sis, but your boyfriend's right,” Yang said sternly. “Honestly, I thought you knew better!” Yang looked down and shook her head, obviously disapproving of her sister’s actions.

“I knew you were stupid, I just didn’t think you were that stupid!” Ruby winced from Weiss’ scolding.

“What on earth made you think, that doing a backflip off of a tree, was a good idea anyway?” Pyrrha asked. Ruby sniffled and whispered silently to herself.

“Sun does stuff like that all the time, I just thought it was cool.” Everyone in the room turned and looked at Sun, the moment his name was mentioned. Sun backed away with wide eyes.

“Nuh uh, don’t bring me into this. I’m a Faunus for crying out loud, she should know it’s different for us!”

“Yeah, and the fact that he’s part monkey, means he can do those things easier than we can,” Nora added. Ignoring Sun’s anger at being called ‘part monkey’.

“Nora and Monkey Boy have a point,” Yang said, also ignoring Sun’s anger at being called ‘Monkey Boy’. “You should have known better sis!”

“We could have lost you, I could have lost you,” Jaune sobbed. “Please, never do something like that again! I don’t know how I’d live without you.” Ruby looked at Jaune in surprise. She knew he loved her, but she didn’t know he loved her that much!

“I’ll never do anything like that again, I’ve learned my lesson.” Ruby cupped his cheek in her hand, and gave him a kiss. “I promise.” The kiss was short and sweet, but it held passion and love. Jaune smiled happily, putting his hand over hers. “When I get out of these things,” Ruby motioned to her casts, “You and me are gonna have some fun! Uh, strictly G rated fun of course!” She added after remembering that her sister was in the room.

“I’ll hold you to that, Red.”

“Jeez, whenever they do this, I feel like such a third wheel!” Yang said. Everyone agreed.


	4. Whenever You Need A Friend

The night was silent, Jaune loved silence. It allowed him to think. Probably much more than was healthy. He was laying on the roof where he and Pyrrha constantly trained, the moon's gentle glow wrapping itself around the area like a blanket. His thoughts were dark, moody, sad. Far from his usual upbeat ones. _'Ruby.'_ He smiled sadly, as his thoughts turned to the huntress who held his heart. She was his light. And he was hers. Everyone knew that. His attitude had changed for the better when they started dating, no longer was he the insecure klutz he used to be. He was a lot more happy and confident. Lately though, he had been second guessing a lot of things. Even his relationship with Ruby. Especially his relationship with Ruby. It was no secret that he was lucky as all hell to have her, but how long would he be that lucky? Would they still be together in five years? Would they grow old together? Would they marry and have children? So many questions, and he didn't have answers for any of them. He didn't want to think that they would break up, but life is unfair sometimes, and he knew that it was entirely possible. He really needed to stop thinking so much, it only served to bring him down.

* * *

Yang yawned, stretching her arms behind her head. "Stupid insomnia," she grumbled. Yang was having trouble sleeping recently. She didn't really know why. She had decided to take a walk, maybe head up to the roof for a while. She hadn't been expecting someone else to be there though. So it came as a shock to see Jaune laying in the middle of the roof, staring up at the stars. She smiled lightly, glad that she wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping. She walked over to Jaune, and sat down by his side. He sat up, a confused expression on his face.

"Yang? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed?" He asked.

"Shouldn't _you_ be in bed?"

"Touché." Yang giggled. He smiled.

"So… Whatcha thinkin' about?" He frowned.

"...Ruby." Yang nodded solemnly. She had noticed the way Jaune had been acting recently. All the dejected gazes he would give her sister. All the sad sighs, when she was out of earshot. She knew that something was wrong, she just didn't know what. Ruby had noticed too, although she tried her best to hide it.

"Be honest with me, are you losing interest in her?" Jaune's eyes widened.

"Dust no! I love Ruby, it's just that… I've been having these thoughts lately." Yang was relieved. She really didn't want her little sister to be heartbroken. She knew that Ruby loved Jaune, probably even more than Crescent Rose!

"What kind of thoughts?" She was eager to learn just what was putting their relationship in jeopardy.

"'Will we still be together in so many years,' y'know stuff like that." Yang knew that that wasn't the only thing going on. Jaune wasn't the type of person to let his thoughts take over his life.

"That's not the only thing, is it?" Jaune blushed, looking away from her.

"No… Ruby's been hinting at wanting to take things to the next level." Jaune answered truthfully, clearly uncomfortable talking about the subject with her.

"How far we talkin' here?" Yang asked, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

"First kiss." She let out a sigh of relief.

"Wait, what'd you think I meant?" She laughed nervously.

"Well- I mean- You- Um… You guys haven't kissed yet?" She asked, changing the subject. To her surprise (and satisfaction), Jaune went with it.

"Nope. The most we've done is hold hands."

"That's adorable! Ruby is so innocent, sometimes I wonder how she can be such a good fighter." Yang laughed. "Anyway, why haven't you kissed yet? It's not exactly a hard thing to do, and you _have_ been together for about three months now."

"I just feel like it should be special."

"And it will be. Trust me, Ruby's not exactly a genius when it comes to romance. Just wait til you're alone, then do it."

"It's that easy huh?"

"It's that easy." Jaune nodded, happy to have one less thing to worry about. Jaune pulled out his scroll and checked the time.

"Just so you know, it's one o'clock in the morning." Yang groaned.

"Great, I have to get up in seven hours!"

"Sorry for keeping you up with me, we should probably get to bed now though."

"No need to apologize. And yeah, we should head back to our dorms." As they stood up, Jaune pulled Yang into a hug.

"Thanks Yang. For everything." Yang smiled and hugged him back.

"You're welcome Jaune! And hey, if you ever need someone to talk to, about those thoughts of yours, or just about whatever, you just have to message me." Jaune nodded happily, grateful to have such an amazing friend.

* * *

' _This is it Jaune. You can do this.'_ Jaune knocked on the door to team RWBY's dorm, knowing that Ruby was the only one currently occupying it. Yang had somehow convinced the professor to give him and Ruby a day off, and he planned to fix things. The door opened, and Jaune's heart broke. Ruby's eyes were red and puffy, her hair was disheveled, and she was still wearing her pajamas. Her face showed a look of desperation, when she realized who it was that knocked on the door.

"Jaune?" Her voice sounded as if she had been crying for hours. Jaune felt so stupid, how could he have put Ruby through such pain, and not even realize it?

"Hey, Ruby… Mind if I come in?" Ruby's eyes widened a little. She stepped aside, allowing him entrance. Once he was inside, Ruby shut the door and locked it. She walked over to her and Weiss' beds and climbed up to her bunk. Jaune followed. He pulled Ruby into a hug. She started to cry into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you."

"I thought you didn't want me anymore!" She cried. "I thought you were going to break up with me! I didn't know what to do, I was so scared, I don't want you to leave me!" Jaune started to cry as well, holding Ruby closer. "I love you so much." She whispered.

"I love you too, I could never leave you!"

"Promise me."

"I'll never leave you, I promise." Jaune gently lifted her head up to his, and kissed her deeply. Ruby sank into the kiss, the salty taste from the tears making their first a bittersweet one. They pulled away, both happy that things were back to the way they were. Well maybe not exactly how they were. There would definitely be a lot more kissing in their future.


	5. I Love You (Micro)

"I love you, Ruby Rose."

Ruby looked into Jaune's eyes. She saw only honesty. Nothing but honesty. She was frozen, from the shock of hearing the words leave his mouth. The only thing she could say was "Why?" Jaune smiled at her question, and took her hands in his.

"I just do. There doesn't need to be a reason why." Ruby thought about it. There really _didn't_ need to be a reason. He just did. She squeezed his hand lightly, and smiled back at him. Nothing really needed to change between them. According to Weiss, they already acted like a couple. Minus the lovey-dovey stuff of course! But, what would it matter if they started doing the lovey-dovey stuff? After all, that stuff would only be between them. No one would really care. If anything, it would just make their friendship stronger! Ruby grew excited, thinking of all the good things that would come from a relationship with him! She stood up on the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek, hands still entwined.

"Well then, in that case… I love you too, Jaune Arc."


	6. White, Black, And Yellow

Weiss sighed, as she ungracefully plopped down on her bed. Today was exhausting. Ruby wouldn't stop eating cookies, and that was normal, but she kept getting melted chocolate on everything! Yang was abnormally angry today, for no apparent reason. Maybe she was having trouble with her girlfriend again? But that wasn't really any of Weiss' business, so she ignored it. Classes were boring, lunch wasn't that great, and Nora gave her a headache. But that was finally over, she was finally able to rest! The door opened, and Weiss was about to groan in annoyance, until she noticed that it was Blake and Jaune. She smiled wearily, standing up to give them hugs and kisses.

About four months ago, after she turned eighteen, Jaune had asked her out for the umpteenth time. She was going to turn him down again, when she realized how hard he tried just to get her to give him a chance. It warmed her heart that someone would try so hard for her. So, she gave him a chance. And it was perfect! He was a gentleman, and he treated her like a princess! But a week after the relationship started, she noticed Blake giving them odd looks. She confronted her about it, and she revealed that she had feelings for the both of them. Weiss doesn't know when exactly they all started dating, but she was happy it happened! She had a perfect boyfriend, and a perfect girlfriend! Jaune was kind of reluctant to try it at first, saying that no good could come from it, but he softened up to the idea over time. When they talked about it with Blake, she was ecstatic! She went up to Jaune, and bunted her head into his, rubbing cheeks with him as well, blushing all the while. Jaune thought it was cute. Weiss knew it was a cat thing. All faunus share some traits with whatever animal they inherit their extra parts from. She didn't know why, but it looked very intimate. Blake did the same thing to her. Later on, they asked her about it. They were shocked to learn that she was putting her scent on them. She basically claimed them as her own! Gosh, that was an embarrassing revelation. But she liked the thought.

"How are you feeling Weiss?" Asked Jaune.

"Tired. It's been a long day." Blake knew how stressed her love got. She needed to relax. They all needed to relax. Jaune had been practicing with Pyrrha a lot more recently, and it showed. He was hunching over a lot, taking power naps at lunch and in class. That reminded her. She would need to have a talk with him about sleeping in class. But that could wait. She herself, was starting to feel the effects of the constant training Ruby was putting them through.

"You can say that again." Jaune said, as he stretched, cracking his back. Blake's eye twitched at the sound.

"Okay, that does it. Come on!" Blake took a hold of their hands, and pulled them down on her bed. Blake landed in the middle, Jaune and Weiss were on both sides of her. "We're all stressed, and I know just the thing to help!" Jaune and Weiss blushed.

"Blake, I know we've been going out for a few months now, but don't you think it's a little too early to do anything like that?" Asked a flustered Weiss. Blake ears twitched and she started blushing redder than either of them.

"No!" She exclaimed, shaking her head. "I didn't mean _that!_ I just meant, like, cuddles and stuff!" Jaune laughed at the expression on her face. "I'm not ready for anything like that!"

"It's okay, Blake. Calm down." Jaune started rubbing her right ear. Blake stopped blushing, and instead began purring in delight. She pushed her head into his hand, making him rub harder. Weiss smiled at the sight. That was probably her favorite thing about Blake. Her ears were so sensitive and cute! She could rub them all day long! Though she would never say that. Jaune was braver than her, when it came to public displays of affection, often rubbing her ears, or kissing them both, not caring if someone would see. Though they did get some rather rude stares. Some people were hesitant to accept the idea of human-faunus relationships. It didn't bother her too much though. She knew that if anyone ever tried to do anything, they wouldn't succeed. They had friends. Very powerful friends at that. Weiss reached over and took her free ear into her hands and rubbed it gently. Blake's purring grew louder, and her smile grew wider. It was moments like these that Weiss cherished the most. "I love you both, so much." Blake stopped purring, and Weiss blushed. "There's no doubt in my mind. I want to be with you two for the rest of my life." Weiss' heart skipped a beat. Blake's did as well.

"I love you both as well." Weiss said, looking over at Blake expectantly.

"I love you two a lot. I can't imagine not being with you guys." They all smiled happily. They began to rub Blake's ears again, eliciting a small but incredibly cute mew from the faunus. What Jaune had said echoed throughout Weiss' mind. For the rest of his life huh? She could make that happen.

' _Silly, it's too early to think about marriage."_ Blake pushed her head into the crook of Weiss' neck, and started purring again. The sound of Blake's purring in her ear made her blush once again. She was doing that a lot lately. Jaune grinned at the adorable sight. ' _Or is it?'_


	7. Stressed Out

Yang walked through the doors of her home, a loud sigh escaping her lips. She threw herself down on the couch with a groan. This was the fifth day in a row they called her out on a field assignment, and she was beginning to get annoyed. Jaune walked into the living room with a smile on his face. "Hey honey, what's wrong?" Yang lifted her face to look at her husband. They had been married for a while now. Jaune confessed to her a year before they graduated Beacon, and they decided to get married shortly after. Graduation that is. It was, to them, the best decision they ever made! They were the most kick-ass couple of all time, often going on missions together, when not with their teams anyway. Their friends were glad they got together, especially Ruby, who made the worlds greatest cake for the wedding, but that's a story for another time.

"The higher ups are assholes, that's what's wrong! They keep giving me missions, I don't have any time for myself anymore. They can't keep doing this, especially since we have the little one on the way..." Yang rubbed her belly, and smiled wearily. About two months ago, they decided they wanted to have a child. Upon telling the others the news, they were met with cheers. Especially from Ruby, who nearly fainted at the idea of having a niece.

"Maybe you can ask one of the others to take on some of your missions? I'm sure they'd be more than glad to help out. Especially Ruby, you know how much she worries about you, ever since we announced that you were pregnant."

"Yeah. But I just feel bad, they get a lot of solo missions too, I often wonder how they find the time maintain their personal lives." Jaune hugged her, and kissed her hair. She smiled, she normally disliked people touching her hair, but Jaune of course was an exception.

"They wouldn't accept if they couldn't, there's no harm in asking."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right, when am I ever wrong?" He asked sarcastically. She chuckled and hit his arm. He smirked and rubbed the spot where she hit.

"Well there was that one time when you decided we should do it in the shower." Jaune winced and rubbed his neck.

"When will you let that go? My back still hurts." She giggled, and placed her hand on his thigh.

"I will never let that go, so you better get used to it! And speaking of doing it..." Jaune kissed her and pushed her down on the couch. She was stressed, she needed this. And who was he to argue?


	8. Broken Hearts

Jaune dropped the white rose on the ground, and turned away. He started walking, each step he took making his heart hurt worse. Why? Why did this kind of stuff always happen to him? Weiss, the girl he has a massive crush on, just asked out Neptune, one of his bros. This couldn't be real, he told himself. But it was, he saw i happen right in front of him. The dance was so close, there was no way he would find a date now. Maybe Ruby? Nah, she was more like a sister than a potential date. Yang was a no go, there was no way in hell he could ever handle her. She was too… Well, he didn't know. But she definitely wasn't his type. He liked energetic girls that liked to have fun, but he liked when they could be serious. He knew Yang could be serious, but she never really showed that side of her to him. Not like… "Nora?" He had stopped walking, looking up in confusion at the girl that stood before him. She seemed sad. He knew what happened. "He said no, didn't he?" She just nodded, tears streaming down her face. She told him that she was going to finally ask Ren out. Obviously, it didn't go so well. He knew that Ren only saw her as a friend, no matter how close they may be.

"Please tell me Weiss said yes, I don't think I could handle both of us being turned down…" Jaune just shook his head. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms. She sobbed. "Damn. Damn, damn, damn! Nothing ever goes our way, does it?" She asked, laughing sadly. He nodded. "You wanna know something funny? I've tried for a very long time, Jaune. For six years actually. Six fucking years! But he'll never view me as anything more than a childhood friend." Tears spilled from his eyes. He didn't even get the chance to be rejected, but she did. And she was. He knew that she must be going through a lot of pain, but he decided then and there that he was going to cheer her up. Somehow. He pulled her into a hug, she let out a gasp of surprise. She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest. She needed someone, and for the first time in her life, she couldn't go to Ren. But Jaune was there, he was always there. Over the course of a couple of months, he quickly became a brother figure to her. Someone she respected and looked up to. He found it weird, but she could see all the great qualities he had. He was their leader for a reason.

"I'm so sorry, Nora. I know how much he means to you. I can't even imagine what you're going through. But know, I'm always here for you if you need me." That right there is one of the reasons she looked up to him so much. He cared more about others than he did himself. Sure that was probably more destructive than it was good, but still. She continued to cry into him, but eventually she ran out of tears and quieted down to whimpers and soft sobs. They stood there, rocking back in forth, the moonlight shining down upon them. If anyone saw the scene, they would describe it as romantic. But romance was a fickle beauty, and she was one of the main reasons they were there in the first place. Nora sighed.

"Jaune, I'm not so sure I want to go to the dance anymore." He agreed. Having your heart broken sure puts a damper on your mood.

"We can stay in the dorm then. Let everyone else go and enjoy themselves. We can have our own fun." She smiled, still clinging to him tightly. "The dance doesn't end till twelve, we can stay up late and play video games, and sing karaoke, and eat junk food. All your favorite things."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Lets do that!" She said excitedly. Jaune lit up at the expression on her face. There was still a hint of sadness there, but she would be back to her old self in no time. "But…" Her face fell again. "Can we not go back to the dorm yet? I don't think I can handle seeing Ren so soon."

"Of course, c'mon, let's take a walk." She nodded as he led her down the path to the gardens.

"Thanks, Jaune."

"No problem, what are friends for!" He sent her a smile. She smiled back.


	9. Not Ready

Weiss was pushed down onto her bed, her heart thumping rapidly inside her chest. Were they really going to do it? Was it time? She told herself she was ready. Jaune climbed onto the bed and captured her lips in a kiss. It was slow and reassuring. She could do this! She was a Schnee, she could take on anything! Even getting intimate with her lover! Right? She told herself she was ready. She kissed him back, he deepened it. He grabbed her waist, she jumped slightly, his touch faltered. She wrapped her arms around his neck to assure him that she wanted this. Because she did. She told herself she was ready.

He pulled his lips away from hers, and brought them to her neck. She moaned in response. Or did she whimper? She couldn't tell. Her heart was beating harder and harder, she could hardly contain her nervousness. She composed herself, trying her hardest to hide it from him. They were wrapped in a tight embrace, she was sure he could feel her heart. He started grinding into her. She gasped. This was good. She told herself she was ready. He pulled her top up. She wrapped her arms around her chest. She was wearing a bra, but it was still more than he ever saw, on purpose anyway, there were a few times where he stumbled in on her accidentally. She told herself she was ready.

He gazed into her eyes questioningly. His were filled with concern. He was asking her if she really wanted to do this. She told herself she was ready. She was lying to herself. Tears started falling from her eyes, and she sobbed pitifully. "I'm sorry. I can't, I'm not ready yet!" He smiled at her, and pulled her into a hug that made her feel safe and warm. She would be ready one day. It just wasn't the right time.


	10. Love Poem

Ruby stared blankly at the envelope resting on her desk, the words 'for Ruby Rose' written on the front of it in red ink. She hesitantly grabbed it and opened it up, gasping at what was inside. A poem, or rather a _love_ poem. She had never received anything like it before, it was surreal. There was someone that liked her? She found it strange. Every boy she ever knew liked her sister, they would never even pay attention to her. But there she was, holding in her hands a love poem written for her.

 _Ruby Rose, your name is of precious gems and flowers,_  
 _But your beauty cannot be compared to such things,_  
 _For you hold a far greater beauty like that of which a songbird sings,_  
 _And that of a misty morning filled with April showers._  
  
Ruby blushed at the words. She had never been called beautiful by anyone other than her sister, and the words were rhymed so beautifully. To her at least. She honestly didn't know that much about poetry, besides what the school required you to read. Despite Beacon being a school for hunters and huntresses, they still have classes for music and art, as well as creative writing. They're basically there for de-stressing, but she still enjoyed them.

_You inspire me in ways I can't even possibly comprehend,_   
_Like a perfect work of art that took years to make,_   
_Or like rose petals floating on a crystal clear lake,_   
_And for this reason, among many others, I'm glad that you're my friend._

Ruby's smile grew wide. She only had two male friends, Ren and Jaune, and she was sure Ren didn't have feelings for her. So it was definitely Jaune who wrote it, unless of course it was one of the girls. But that was impossible, all of her friends knew she was into guys.

_Even if you don't feel the same, I need to tell you of the spark,_   
_It may not change much, but I must admit I felt it,_   
_When we shared that accidental first kiss, a fire in my heart lit,_   
_Signed, your closest and most faithful friend, Jaune Arc._

And there it was. She hugged the poem to her chest and sighed dreamily. A couple of weeks ago, Jaune and Ruby had ran into each other in the hallway, she fall on top of him and their lips collided with each others. They separated immediately, but everyone still teased them about it. They apologized and said it was no big deal, but it was. Apparently they both felt some sort of connection when it happened. She was going to tell him how she felt, but it looks like he beat her to it, and in the most beautiful way she could imagine too. "Whatcha got there, sis?" Yang grabbed the poem out of her hands. Ruby turned and looked at her sister with pleading eyes. "Ooh, a love poem?"

"Yang, please give it back!" Yang's eyes widened as she read it.

"Wow, this is really decently written. Rubes, he must like you a lot."

"Can I see it?" Asked Blake. Yang handed it to her, Ruby crossed her arms and pouted. "It is rather good. I'm surprised someone like Jaune could even write one decent stanza, but three? He must write a lot of poetry or something."

"I wanna read it." Weiss snatched it from Blake. "Wow, you girls weren't kidding. I get a lot of love letters, they're usually so bad they make my eyes bleed. This is like Chaucer compared to those."

"I think it's beautiful. It's the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me." Ruby admitted shyly.

"It's true, because of me most guys never even looked at Ruby when we were going to Signal. They always became her friend to get closer to me, and then I had to punch some sense into them."

"Wow, that sounds like it sucked." Blake said.

"It did. I could only trust girls. And even then, there were some who were just trying to get to Yang." Yang laughed nervously.

"I attract all sorts of genders don't I."

"Well it certainly didn't help when you came out as pansexual to the whole school…"

"Anyway," Yang started, "Do you feel the same towards Jaune?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to him tomorrow. I'm really tired." Ruby went to the bathroom to get dressed, leaving her teammates alone in the bedroom.

"Wow. There was no hesitation whatsoever." Weiss muttered.

"It's not surprising. Ruby's always been kinda blunt and to the point about her feelings."

"Then why hasn't she told him yet?"

"Well she was probably nervous. But now that she knows he likes her back, she won't be."

* * *

"Hey Jaune, you got a minute?" Ruby asked, walking up to him in the hall. He smiled when he saw her.

"Yeah. So what did you think of the poem?"

"I thought it was beautiful. Thanks for taking the time to write it!"

"Ah it was nothing. I just had to get my feelings out somehow. I'm not really good with words unless they're on paper…"

"I want you to know, I feel the same way!" She said, pulling him into a hug.

"Then you wouldn't mind going on a date with me this Friday?"

"Sure! What time?"

"How does four sound? I know it's a little weird, but I still have to train with Pyrrha."

"That sounds good. I gotta go, late for class. See ya later, Jaune!" She waved as she ran off. He waved back and walked off in the opposite direction. Three spectators stood in the middle of the hallway with unbelieving faces.

"Told ya." Yang sighed.

"I just… Wow… If only I could talk to my crush that easily." Weiss whispered.

"If everyone acted like that, the world would be a lot less confusing." Blake said.


	11. Cramps

Velvet groaned in agony, writhing around on her bed. She was in pain, and it seemed her team didn't care at all. Of course today was a day off, so they all went to spend it in the town, maybe see a movie or something. Without her. She was so going to give them a very stern talking to when they got back. It wasn't like she could help it, it's something that happens to every girl, and her best friend and team leader Coco certainly knew how bad her cramps were, she was just watching out for her. And her other teammates were boys, so she didn't expect them to understand. Not the she blamed them or anything. The door opened but she didn't notice. "Wow, Fox was right, you've got it bad." She let out a surprised gasp and turned her head to see Jaune enter the room. She relaxed when she realized who it was. After they started dating, Coco gave him the ability to enter the dorm at any time, which Velvet was extremely thankful for at that moment.

"You have no idea!" She yelled, clutching the lower part of her stomach. "Stupid uterus, I don't even want kids right now!" Jaune laughed, Velvet glared at him. "Ugh, I wish there was a way to stop the pain."

"Well, what do you usually do?" She looked at him quizzically. "You know, to help with the pain?"

"Oh, I usually just do something to take my mind off it, like watch a movie or something. But this is the worst it's ever been, so I don't think that will help much!"

"Head down, butt up." Velvet blushed.

"W-what?"

"Head down, butt up."

"I know what you said! Just, I mean, what?" Jaune sighed and walked over to the bed. He sat down beside her and smiled.

"Lay with your head down, and your butt up in the air. It helps a bit. It won't alleviate the pain, but it will help."

"Where did you learn that?"

"I grew up with seven sisters. After I learned about the menstrual cycle, I kinda took into my own hands to help them with whatever they needed so that wouldn't have to ask our parents. They were always too embarrassed to ask them, so they ended up just sitting through the pain. Much like what you're doing now. I got them food when they were craving things, and I also looked up ways to help the pain. It's one of the ways that worked the best. Oh and cranberries. but we don't have any of those, so…" Velvet nodded, and assumed the position he told her to. It was a little embarrassing being a such a compromising pose in front of him. But she knew he wouldn't try anything. "Also, did you take any pain pills?"

"Of course. I took them as soon as it started, and I've been taking them everyday since."

"Good. Now just stay like that for a while." The talked for a while, keeping her mind off of the pain. She realized that the pose really was helping. Not too much, but it was helping. She would have to try cranberries soon, she made a mental note to get Coco to go into town tomorrow and buy some.

"I've gotta go, Pyrrha doesn't like it when I'm late for training." Velvet pouted.

"Alright. But before you go…" She sat up and kissed him. She grabbed his shoulders and kissed him harder. She swiped her tongue across his lips and he allowed her entrance. She pulled away, smiling slyly. "Sorry. Mood swings." Jaune laughed and stood up.

"Sure. I'll see you later Velv, love you!"

"Love you too!" She shouted as he left the room. She sighed happily and sunk into her bed. "I have the best boyfriend ever."


	12. Bloody Kisses

Jaune groaned in pain as he held the ice pack to his head. He was bruised and contused and had a black eye. "I don't think Yang knows what going easy on someone means." Ruby laughed and smiled. They sat on Yang's bed, Ruby patching up his wounds as he tried to sit still.

"I told you, I'm the only person who's ever beaten her. In fact, I don't even think Pyrrha has been able to beat her yet."

"I think Goodwitch has it out for me. Pairing me with one of the schools top fighters, what was she thinking? I mean, I've gotten better since I first got here, but I'm still not even close to Yang's level."

"Yeah, it was kind of stupid. You'd have been much better off being paired with someone like Cardin. Or even Velvet, you know, someone that has the same combat ranking as you." He nodded in agreement. He squirmed as she put disinfectant on the wound across his forehead. "Hold still, Jaune, you're making this a little difficult."

"Sorry." Ruby finished applying it and wrapped his head in a bandage.

"There, you should be good for now. You're not gonna be fighting for a while though, that's for sure." He pulled her close to him and touched his now bandaged forehead to hers.

"What would I ever do without you?" She giggled.

"Well, you'd probably be dead, considering this is the fourth time this month I've had to help you with injuries." She kissed him. She pulled away and licked her lips, the taste of copper appearing on her tongue. "You're bleeding." He touched a finger to his lips, pulling it away to see he was indeed bleeding.

"Oh, sorry." She handed him a rag and he wiped the blood off his lips. She kissed him again, not minding the metallic taste on his lips. She heard the door open. Yang let out a yelp as she saw her sister glaring at her.

"Oh Yang!~ What did I tell you about hurting my boyfriend?" Yang shook in fear.

"B-but it wasn't my fault! I can't choose who Goodwitch makes me fight!"

"Too bad!" Ruby shrugged. Yang gulped. She was so totally screwed, and not in the good way.


	13. What Are Friends For?

It didn't take long for the rest of her team to notice. How she was covering up more and more, her once exposed midriff now completely covered by a white shirt, her cleavage was completely covered as well. She also made sure her hair covered her neck at all times. Ruby was the first to notice, giving her concerned looks, Weiss was next, then Blake. They started giving her strange looks, wondering what caused her to change her outfit. Well, it was all _his_ fault. Yes, _him,_ Jaune Arc, the foolish blonde boy that lived across the hall from them, and her secret boyfriend. It was barely noticeable at first, just a couple of small but completely explainable bruises. A training accident here, a trip there, nothing she couldn't make an excuse for. But then they got more unexplainable, more pronounced. It wasn't her fault that he had a strong grip, and the bites, _dear god the bites!_ Covering herself up a bit more was definitely a price she was willing to pay to keep their relationship a secret, they would get no privacy otherwise. Everything was perfect for them, but now it seemed like everyone was getting suspicious, even Jaune had to cover up a few marks from when they got a little bit more rowdy and Nora was giving him knowing looks.

Yang bit her chapped lips, drawing blood. She winced as she tasted the familiar copper flavor. She licked her lips clean of the blood. She needed to stop doing that, it was a bad habit. Ruby approached her nervously, she sighed and looked over at her. "What is it now Ruby?"

"Are you sure you're okay? You've really been acting strange lately." Strange? She thought she was acting pretty normal, besides the extra clothing.

"What do you mean by strange?" Ruby's eyes widened.

"W-well, you've been a lot more happy and relaxed lately." Yang held in a snicker.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ruby rubbed the side of her arm awkwardly.

"Well, yes. But, you've also been more on edge, more nervous. It's kind of throwing the team off." Yang tensed up. Had she really been so visibly nervous? She was just so afraid of them finding out, what would they think about them keeping such a huge secret from them? They probably wouldn't like it, especially Ruby. Finding out your best friend is dating your sister is one thing, but finding out your best friend is railing your sister hardcore is another thing entirely, and as much as she hated the thought, that would have to come out as well, they would no doubt bug her about her extra clothing. which they surprisingly haven't brought up yet.

"What have I got to be nervous about? I'm fine Ruby, really!" She brought a hand to the back of her head. Ruby eyed her suspiciously, she sighed and closed her eyes.

"Alright, if you say so.

* * *

Yang smiled happily as the hot water hit her head. It'd been far too long since she had had a nice shower, okay so only since yesterday, but it _felt_ like too long. Maybe she just needed to wind down, maybe get Jaune to take her into town again. She missed feeling his hands glide through her hair, and she missed kissing his extremely kissable lips… She just really missed him. It had been a while since they had been able to spend any time together. And with things going the way they were, it would be while still before they could. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her. She exited the bathroom and walked over to her bed, sorting through the pile of clean/unclean clothes that she haphazardly threw on it. Anything to make Weiss less snappy. Blake walked in the room and yawned. "Hey, Yang."

"Sup, Kitty Cat? What's got you all tired out?"

"Oh you know, studying for this weeks big test, dealing with Weiss, Sun. The usual."

"Monkey boy's keeping you out late again? I thought we talked to him about that." Blake laughed.

"Yes, and we did. But what can I say, I'm weak when it comes to him." Yang knew all too well. She threw her hands up to her cheeks.

"Oh Sun, pet me harder! Yes, right there!" She imitated in a high pitched voice. Blake blushed and glared at her. "You know for someone so quiet and reserved, you sure do have a lot of weird fantasies."

"How-"

"You talk in your sleep, you're lucky Ruby and Weiss are such heavy sleepers!" Blake grumbled. Yang started walking back to the bathroom to get dressed, her towel got snagged on something causing it to fall down. She gasped and grabbed it, wrapping as much of it around her as much she could. She looked back at Blake to see her staring with her mouth wide open. "Dammit. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Yang, those bruises, are you… Seeing someone?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Who? If you don't mind me asking."

"The cat's out of the bag, I might as well tell ya. Oh, er, no pun intended. It's Jaune." Blake looked at her in shock.

"Jaune? Well, that's surprising."

"Please don't tell anyone, we've kept it secret for a reason. Besides, everyone will know soon anyway. Nora's onto us, and you know once she figures it out the whole school will know."

"Your secret is safe with me, but you can't keep this from the others forever. You're going to have to tell them, preferably before Nora tells everyone."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks Blake." She smiled thankfully to her partner, and headed for the bathroom.

"No problem, what are friends for?"


	14. A Small Break

Real Life AU

* * *

Weiss rarely ever spoke German even though it was her first language. After she transferred, she made it a habit to speak only in english so everyone could understand her, but that didn't mean she _never_ spoke in German. For example, when she was angry. Jaune could tell that she wasn't happy with him pulling her away from her homework. He walked over to the glass slide door and opened it up, leading her out to the balcony.

"Please Weiss, you've been working yourself way too hard lately! Just sit with me and watch the sunset, you need to relax!" She glared at him as he sat down on one of the fold out chairs they had on their shared apartment's balcony. That they were able to get an apartment with such an amazing view was all thanks to Weiss' father. And it didn't hurt that it was literally right next to the school.

"This is why you pulled me away from my studying? To relax!?" She began ranting in German. Everyone could tell you, Weiss was terrifying when she was angry. No one knew this better than Ruby and Jaune. Yang usually excused herself as soon as things got ugly. An English word occasionally slipped out of her mouth, and that was the only way to tell exactly what she was yelling about. Jaune caught the words 'grades,' 'father,' 'disappointed,' and 'can't relax.' She took a deep breath, she was about to start screaming again. Not exactly looking forward to it, Jaune stood up and pulled her close, sitting down on the fold out chair with her on his lap. She sighed and closed her eyes, putting her head to his chest. "I suppose I can take a small break." Jaune silently cheered in victory. "But only a small one!" She added.

"Of course." They stared out at the pale orange sky in awe.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's absolutely beautiful."

"Yeah, it really is." Jaune agreed, she looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"That's it? No cliche line like, 'you really are,' or anything?" He chuckled.

"Well I figured cliche lines like that couldn't tell you how I really feel about you. Besides, I'm sure you've heard them all before."

"You're right, I have heard them all before. But that doesn't mean I don't want to hear you say them. I can't explain it, but it's kind of reassuring. Like, we all grow up wanting to hear 'romantic' lines like that, and then we hear someone say them, and they never really have the impact you expect. But, then you hear the one you love say them, and it just feels right. Y'know? Like they're the one that was meant to say those kinds of things to you."

"Wow, Weiss. That was…"

"I know, cheesy… But it's true."

"Do you want me to recite Shakespeare as well?" She slapped at him playfully.

"If you do, I'm going to use my fencing equipment to poke you in places you never want to be poked." They laughed, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, Lovebirds! Get in here, foods ready!" Yang called from inside.

"Coming!" They called back. They took one last look at the sunset and went back inside.


	15. Drunk On Love

Nora whispered into his ear, he shivered. Her words were slurred slightly. He pushed her away gently and she giggled childishly. She pushed him down on the bed, he hit the mattress hard, letting out a grunt of surprise. Nora was stronger than she looked, she leaned over him and looked at him with a predatory look in her eyes. He couldn't let it happen. She was drunk, most likely Yang's doing. How that girl got her hands on alcohol he'll never know, underage drinking was a law that was constantly broken by her, she must know some people. Not that he cares, it wasn't his business, but what was his business was the girl on top of him, staring down into his eyes lustfully. She placed a hand on his chest and trailed it down to his belt, undoing it with ease. He pushed her away again and shook his head. She looked down as if she was a child getting sent to time out. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked innocently.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. But we can't do this, you're drunk, you aren't thinking clearly." She smiled at his caring tone.

"Jaune, I think it's sweet that you care so much, but believe me, I want to do this. I uh, really like you. And I trust you, I know you won't do anything to hurt me. I might not remember this in the morning, but I'm definitely sober enough to know what I'm doing." Jaune was conflicted, her eyes and her tone implied she was speaking the truth, but he was always taught that being drunk never meant yes, no matter how much it seemed like they wanted to. But Nora was hardly slurring anymore, and she was being dead serious, he honestly didn't know what to do. She sighed. "Jaune, please. I don't think I could do this when I'm sober, I won't regret it, I promise." She leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Please. I really need this." Poor Nora had been going through a lot, Ren's rejection had hit her hard, even with Jaune there to help pick up the pieces, she still wasn't completely back to normal. She was less happy, less like her old bubbly self. Jaune was like a bright light that drove the darkness away, and somewhere along the way she had developed feelings for him. At first she thought it was just her mind playing tricks on her, that she was just happy he was there, but then she started to feel around him what she felt around Ren, and she was sure. She knew that sleeping with Jaune wouldn't make her feel better, but she desperately wanted to be close with him at that moment, desperately wanted to feel some sort of passion, any kind of passion, and sex seemed like the way to go. It would be their first times, and while she was unsure that she wanted to have her first time while drunk, she knew that it really didn't matter. Virginity was just a concept after all.

"Nora… Any other time, I would gladly do this, but you're drunk. You seem to be thinking clearly enough, but how do you know if this is really what you want?"

"It could be the alcohol…" She mumbled.

"Exactly."

"But it also couldn't be, all I know is that I want you right now. I just need a clear answer, Jaune, do you want to, yes or no?" Of course he wanted to, but he couldn't say yes, that there was even a tiny possibility that she would regret it, that she didn't really want to, it just couldn't happen, it shouldn't happen.

"No. I don't, not right now anyway." Nora flopped down beside him, clearly disappointed by his answer. "I'm sorry."

"I should be the one telling you sorry, I shouldn't have forced you into a situation like that. I was being selfish." She turned on her side away from him. "I shouldn't have let Yang convince me to drink. I normally would have said no, but these last few weeks, and all these confusing feelings, I just…" She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, she wouldn't let her sad thoughts take over, not in front of Jaune. She felt an arm being wrapped around her side, she gasped as he kissed the back of her neck.

"Nora, remember when you said you really liked me? Well, I really like you too. I can't help you get over everything that's happened, but maybe I can make it all just a bit more bearable." He pulled her close to his chest.

"You help me more than you can ever know." She mumbled sleepily. That night, she slept in Jaune's embrace, a happy smile on her face.


	16. Unsure

Things were getting a bit heated, and Ruby wasn't sure she wanted things to continue. The book she had in her hands lay forgotten on the floor, as Jaune kissed her passionately. Everyone left to go visit their families for the holiday break, but they stayed, preferring to hone their skills as leaders. She thought it would be a good idea, but the one thing she didn't count on was the intimacy that came with it. No one was around to stop them from doing the things they shouldn't, and while she was relieved to be able to make out with her boyfriend without her sister constantly walking in on them with her scroll on the camera setting, she wasn't sure she was ready to go further. It seemed rather intimidating from what she read about such activities online, and from what she's seen in her sisters 'secret' magazine collection. She knew to not trust those though, they never portrayed it realistically, always making things much larger than they actually are for the consumers pleasure. It was all just lies, and she was sure her first time wouldn't hurt _that_ much, it shouldn't hurt at all actually, and if it does, you're doing it wrong. Ruby wasn't as innocent as people always assumed, she was actually very knowledgeable about sex, she just wanted her first time to be perfect, and who could blame her?

Jaune kissed her neck, biting lightly so as to not leave any marks. That was a rule between them, if they could help it, no hickeys, at least not in places that were easily visible. Yang would totally flip her shit if she saw one. She moaned, he held himself back. He placed his hands on her waist, she put a leg around him, he held onto her by her thighs. The first time she ever tried that, she nearly fell over, but now he was used to it. Making out was like second nature to them, they did it so often. At first Jaune was kind of paranoid about it, after all Ruby was still a child, still very young, it was only by two years, and their teams saw nothing wrong with it, but it still felt a bit wrong. But now, he couldn't get enough of her, she was like a drug, made only for him. One that he hoped would never run out of. He never hesitated to kiss her, or show how much she really meant to him, he never wanted her to feel unloved or unwanted. But did he really want this? Each and every kiss sent them closer to to the bed, and he knew what would happen if they didn't stop. But could they? _Should_ they? Ruby was definitely not of legal age to do anything like that, but that hasn't really stopped them in the past, should it now? He could feel the nervousness behind her kisses. He pushed her away. "Um, we should really get back to studying those battle strategies." She looked relieved, and he knew he made the right decision.

"Yeah… Thanks Jaune." The smiled at each other.

"I couldn't just let it happen." She nodded, picking her book up off the floor and walking to her desk. Maybe someday, they thought. Just not now.


	17. Little Ghost

Paranormal Remnant AU, Ghost!Ruby

* * *

Ruby Rose was like a normal everyday teenager, except that she wasn't. She was dead, one of the unlucky ones who died young. But she wouldn't let that get her down, the after life wasn't so bad, she was free to do as she liked, and no one could tell her otherwise. She even managed to get a boyfriend! Too bad he was alive. Yes, that's right, Ruby's boyfriend was alive, an old friend of hers from when she was alive. Jaune Arc. Her death hit him hard, apparently he had feelings for her, and never got to tell her. While she was alive that is. But now, they were pretty much happy! "I really want to see you…" Jaune said, lying on his bed. He couldn't see her, but Ruby was laying right beside him.

"I wish I could, but it just takes so much energy to do." Jaune sighed at her words.

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm being selfish. At least I can feel that you're here with me." She smiled, he smiled too. It was strange how he could feel her shifts in emotion, if she was happy, he was happy. If she was sad, he was sad. She placed a hand on his arm and he shivered.

"It's so cold…" She pulled away. "No! I like it! I like knowing that you're touching me! I just wish I could touch you."

"Manifesting physically would require a lot more energy than just allowing you to see me." She laughed. He chuckled.

"Yeah, we'll find a way, someday anyway. Right now I just want to relax." He closed his eyes. "You ever find it strange that I'm the only one who can hear you and feel you?"

"It is kind of weird, but the papers they gave me after I passed into the Netherworld said that some people were more attuned to the paranormal than others, I guess you're one of those lucky few. Too bad Yang isn't one of them, I would love to speak with her."

"I said it before, and I'll say it again, we'll find a way. Maybe we could hold a séance? I don't know, I'm still trying to figure out how to tell all of them about you. Like, how do I tell Yang that I'm in a relationship with her dead sister without it sounding crazy?" Ruby giggled.

"Maybe work on not sounding like a necrophiliac?" He stuck his tongue out and made a 'nyeh' sound. She laughed harder.

"Let's not deny it, I clearly am." She made fake gagging sounds.

"Oh, real mature Ruby!" They both laughed. Jaune sighed as she snuggled into him, goosebumps covering his skin. He got used to the feeling a long time ago. "I love you, Ruby."

"I love you too, Jaune." He fell asleep as she watched, she smiled at the peaceful look on his face. It was times like this that Ruby wished she could sleep. But she knew she didn't have to wait too long, one day he would die, it was inevitable, and they would be together to haunt and terrorize the night.


	18. Vampire Kiss

Paranormal Remnant AU, Vampire!Weiss

* * *

Jaune shivered as ecstasy surged through his body, he groaned as her lips caressed his neck, he gasped as her sharp fangs scraped against his flesh. Weiss had him pinned against the wall. She laughed innocently as he placed his hands around her waist. "You enjoy the danger, don't you? That I could lose control at any time and just bite you? But that wouldn't be so bad would it?" He nodded, completely transfixed by the dark goddess before him.

"Weiss…" He moaned. She smiled widely, revealing her razor sharp fangs. "I want you to..." Her smile disappeared and she looked away.

"No, you don't. You just think you do." He grabbed her hands and switched their roles, pinning her to the wall. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Weiss, I want you to!" He said forcefully. "We've been together for months, I think I can make this decision with a clear head! I love you!" He kissed her hard, she moaned into his mouth his tongue bringing her into submission. It was amazing that he could do that. She was a vampire, she had unnatural strength among other things, but here he was, a mortal human being, turning her into a quivering pile of jelly. He pulled away for air. She frowned. That was a slight annoyance.

"Jaune, I love you too, but are you sure that you really want me to infect you? Vampirism is not a gift, it's a curse, a bloody disease that drains you if you don't drink blood. Is that really what you want? To be some unholy creature that survives by draining the life source of other creatures?"

"Yes. I'm sure. I don't want you to be alone for another hundred thousand years." He said calmly but firmly. She smiled sadly.

"Alright…"

"Just do it fast, get it over with." He closed his eyes tightly. In an instant she had her fangs in his neck, sucking the blood from him. He screamed in agony, but she clamped a hand over his mouth. She laid him down, he was losing consciousness. Soon, everything became black.

* * *

Jaune blinked in confusion, he awoke to the smell of cigarette smoke. "Hey, Bones! He's waking up!" He heard a loud monotone voice shout.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Replied a rough low pitched voice. "Ah no! Another feckin' vampire! I've had enough of these undead assholes coming through here today!" Jaune sat up and looked around.

"Where the hell am I?" He asked.

"You're in the Netherworld. Congratulations kid, you're dead!" The grouchy voice laughed. He looked around to find the source, and saw a small man. His flesh was half decayed, and there were bits of bones visible here and there. "My names, Bones, and I will be your guide through the Netherworld! Is what I would say normally, but you're a vampire, so lucky you, you get an infinite amount of time in the human realm, so long as you don't die again! Here are the papers that will tell you everything you need to know about vampires and how to be one. Follow the rules, don't be an idiot, and you'll do just fine! Feel free to use our waiting room to read the papers, and once you're done head through the exit on the left! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a bunch of werewolves to deal with in the other room. Feckin' mangy bastards..." He trailed off as he left. Jaune stared at the papers and sighed. He got to work reading them.

* * *

Jaune woke once more, but this time he felt different. He didn't feel the need to breathe, he felt cold, his heart wasn't beating anymore. "So, how did it go? Did you meet, Bones?" Weiss asked him, leaning over him

"I met, Bones." He laughed. "What an asshole."

"Eh, he's kind of a good guy once you get to know him. Did he tell you that you have the ability to travel back and forth from the Netherworld and the Mundane world at will?"

"Nope. It wasn't in the papers either." Weiss shook her head.

"He always forgets to tell the new ones that. I'll show you how later, as well as give you a tour of the place. Y'know, it's not that different from this one." She helped him up off the floor, he gasped in pain and held his mouth. "Fang aches, don't worry, the pain will go away once they grow in properly."

"How long does that take?"

"About three days, but don't worry, time goes by fast when you live forever. In the meantime, I know a way we can pass the time." Jaune noticed the seductive edge to her voice.

"Oh?"

"Yeah." She wouldn't have to be careful anymore now that they were both vampires, she wouldn't have to hold back, and she was looking forward to it.


	19. Here There Be Witches

Paranormal Remnant AU, Witch!Glynda

* * *

Glynda frowned as she threw frogs into the boiling hot water. "I'm sorry, you beautiful creatures, I'm so sorry. But some sacrifices have to be made." She stirred the mixture thoroughly, it bubbled and popped, casting an eerie purple and green glow throughout the room. "This will be my greatest potion yet, perhaps now Ozpin will listen to reason, that old fool. He's going to hurt himself if he doesn't get at least _some_ rest every night." She sighed. "I worry too much, Ozpin knows what he's doing. And he is busy… No, he needs sleep." She said firmly to herself. "It's for the greater good!" Now she just needed someone to slip it in his coffee supply. But who could she trust? A loud thud caught her attention, she gasped in surprise and turned to find Jaune Arc clumsily stumbling around. He fell to his knees and clutched his stomach.

"That's for embarrassing me in front of the whole school Arc!" She heard Cardin yell down the chute that Jaune was thrown down. Clearly she needed to find another place for her secret Witch's Quarters. She would also have to give Cardin some form of punishment, that little bully had been a thorn in her side for too long! Jaune groaned. She turned her attention to him. He stood up, gasping for breath.

"Dust, that hurt." He looked up and his eyes widened. "Goodwitch? What are you doing here?" He noticed the cauldron in the middle of the room. "What's with the… Wait!" Here it comes. "You really are a witch!?" She winced as if the words cut into her. There had been rumors going around the school for a while. "That's so…" This was it, he was either going to run away in fear, or run to tell Ozpin, and there was nothing she could do. "Cool!" Wait… What? Her eyes widened in surprise. "What kind of potion are you making?" He walked up to the cauldron and peered into it. "Frogs huh? That means it's some sort of manipulation potion, yeah?" She smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad that Jaune knew.

"Yes, how did you know that?"

"I uh, read a lot of forbidden books…" She knew not to ask questions. "So what is it you're making?" She scooped up some of the liquid in a clear small vial.

"It's a sleeping potion, the headmaster has been working himself to exhaustion, it is my duty as his assistant, and a professor of this establishment to make sure he gets enough sleep." Jaune nodded his head. "Perhaps you would like to help?"

"Yeah, sure. What do I do?"

"Just sneak a drop of this potion into his coffee for me!"

"Sure, it'll be difficult, but it's not impossible. But, you have to teach me about potions in return." Glynda nodded happily.

"I'd be glad to!"

* * *

"Glynda, do you have those student transfer papers, I can't find them anywhere." Ozpin said, taking a sip of his coffee. He licked his lips, an unfamiliar taste invading his mouth. "Hm."

"Sorry, sir. You must have set them down somewhere."

"Damn. I thought for sure… I had… Placed… Them…" Ozpin's head hit his desk, and he snored loudly. Glynda smiled widely, glad that the potion had worked.

"Thank Dust, sleep easy Ozpin. You can worry about work later." She couldn't have done it without Jaune. "How did he manage to get it in your coffee, I wonder?" She smiled at the thought of the young boy. She was going to be spending a lot more time with him, and that wasn't such a bad thing. Not at all.


	20. That Time Of The Month

Paranormal Remnant AU, Werecat!Blake

* * *

Jaune awoke to the smell of meat and blood, he clenched his nose and groaned in disgust. "Blake…" He sighed as Blake cuddled into him, she was a lot more hairy than usual, and her fur was covered in dry blood. "What am I gonna do with you?" He placed a hand on her back and pet her. She yawned and woke up, purring at the feeling. "Blake, where'd all this blood come from?"

"Oh, I uh… I got a little carried away with my hunting last night." She replied sheepishly. He smiled and shook his head.

"Is that why it smells like raw meat in here?" She nodded her head.

"I was gonna take a shower, but I was too tired, and you looked so warm!" He laughed.

"It's alright, but I would appreciate it if you took one now…" Her eyes widened.

"Oh, uh right! Sorry!" She rushed to the bathroom. He sighed, getting up from the bed to get a bucket of soapy water and a mop. The fact that he was used to this scared him. He listened to Blake sing in the shower as he cleaned up the blood. After he was done, he sprayed a massive amount of scented spray and lit an unholy amount of candles. Blake sighed blissfully as she stepped out of the bathroom, inhaling the strong artificial scents. "It smells really good in here! Like freshly picked flowers! I'm really sorry, Jaune. I know I do this a lot, and I-"

"You don't have to apologize. I know that it must be really tiring having to go through that every month. Besides, any uncomfort I may feel is nothing compared to yours. I mean, the process of changing is so slow and painful..." Blake looked away from him with a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through seeing me like that. My full form is rather disagreeable… I mean, the only thing stopping me from attacking you when I'm like that is the love I hold for you."

"Oh, I don't mind when you're in that form, you're just like a really big house cat, it's actually really cute!" Blake blushed and giggled. He loved her even when she was nothing more than an animal, she was so lucky to have someone like him. "Besides, you're a lot less aggressive than you think. Most of the time you just insist on making me pet you for hours. It gets kind of annoying, but I don't mind it, you're so soft and fluffy and cuddly! I could go without cleaning up all the hair though." She busted out into laughter. "There's a big difference in the way you act through your various forms, it's kind of interesting actually. It's like I'm dating three different people. Well, technically, one giant cat, and two people." He laughed.

"Is there really that much of a difference?"

"Oh yeah, in the form you're in now, which is the halfway point, you're a lot more… Uh, _sexually_ inclined…"

"Oh?" She smiled. "Do you not like that?"

"Well I mean, I don't _hate_ it." She pushed him on the bed and he laughed/whined. "But it's ten in the morning!"

"Too bad!" She paused and laughed. "Wow, maybe you're right..." She shrugged and climbed on the bed. She was just glad they wouldn't have to try and be quiet. That was one of the good things about living in a cabin in the woods.

* * *


	21. Seven Minutes

It was quiet, dark, hot, extremely sweaty. But what could Yang do? She had been chosen by the almighty bottle, and who was she to argue? Besides, she was a master at these kinds of games! But why was she all nervous? Maybe it was because of who was chosen to be stuffed into the closet with her, maybe it was all his fault. Okay, so admittedly it _was_ all his fault, but he didn't know that. He probably just thought she was nervous because she hadn't ever done anything like this before. Which wasn't true in the slightest, but he didn't need to know that, it would just make him nervous, and the closet didn't need _two_ incredibly sweaty and nervous teenagers in it! "Yang… We don't need to do anything you know. What happens in here is between us, and only us, those are the rules, right?"

"Y-yeah, but, don't you want to do… Something?" She hesitantly asked, her breathing heavy and erratic. She was breathing in hot air, her throat was burning and she was cursing at the fact that they had a heater installed in the dorm.

"Not if you don't." Jaune said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Their eyes had adjusted, they could clearly see each other now. The fact that she didn't feel calm in his presence hit him hard, he never wanted any girl to feel nervous around him, that would imply that they thought he was a creep, and he hated creeps.

"That's surprising, you get shoved in a tight closet with a hottie with big breasts, and you don't want to do anything? Most guys would-"

"I'm not most guys, Yang, I'm a friend, and friends don't take advantage of each other. Besides, even if you weren't my friend, I still wouldn't do anything you didn't consent to first."

"I know, I'm just being silly, ignore me." He put a hand under her chin and lifted her head.

"No, I'm not going to ignore you, there's obviously a reason why you're nervous, and if it isn't because you're afraid I'll take advantage of you, then it's something else. I need to know what it is, if it's something I need to fix then I really need to know." And that was why she liked him, he was always trying to find ways to help himself become a better person.

"It's nothing you need to fix, Jaune. I think you're perfect!" She looked away and Jaune leaned back further away from her. He crossed his legs and laid back against the coats hanging behind them.

"I'm not perfect, Yang. No one is…" She looked at him angrily. His problem was that he couldn't take compliments! If he needed to work on anything, it was that! "But, thank you for thinking that! It makes me feel like I'm really making progress!" He smiled at her, making her feel butterflies. Okay, so maybe he actually could take compliments. Besides, how are you supposed to react to someone telling you that they think you're perfect anyway?

"Jaune… Y'know, we've only been in here for about three minutes, we still have time to do things if you want to." She placed a hand on his leg, her expression blank. He shook his head and placed a hand on hers. "It's alright, I promise." She took his hand and placed it on her left breast. They both blushed at her bold move. "You can touch me. I'm giving you my consent. This is what you want, right?"

"Yang…" He pulled his hand away. "It's not about what I want, it's about what you want."

"What I want?" Had she been doing everything wrong then?

"Yes, what you want."

"I… Um, I don't know what I want."

"Then nothing has to happen, Yang. We can just wait until our times up." She nodded her head and shifted. She laid her head down on his legs. He hesitated briefly, before he sat his hand on her head. He weaved his fingers through her hair. Then there was silence. Warm, comfortable, happy silence. Then there was light, and surprised gasps. Apparently, people can get the wrong idea when a girl has her head dangerously close to your crotch.


	22. Not Much Of A Dancer

Blake couldn't take it anymore, she just couldn't. She was so stressed, this whole week wasn't working out for her. She and Yang were arguing over stupid stuff, her best friend Sun wasn't talking to her for some reason, and she was going through her menstrual cycle to boot. It was as if life decided to beat her up and leave her body lying in a ditch. She was alone in the library, her happy place, the only place she could get some peace and quiet. No one ever used the library, and even if they did it was so huge that she would never hear or see them. She loved the silence, it usually comforted her in times of distress, but she hated it at that moment. It was like it was taunting her. She slammed her fist down on the table where she sat, and hunched over it. She sobbed quietly, wishing that her boyfriend and girlfriend were there with her. "Blake? Are you okay?" Her ears twitched, she sat back up to find Jaune and Velvet standing beside her. Looks like she didn't have to wish any longer.

"Honestly? No, this week has been horrible." She slurred a bit, she hasn't been getting hardly enough sleep lately. Add that to the list of things that were making her life a nightmare. She wiped her eyes and sniffled.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, you know we're here to help if you need it." Jaune added.

"Thanks, and you're already helping me just by being here. We've been so busy lately that we haven't really been able to spend time together."

"Yeah, sorry. My team has been really strict about studying and stuff lately." Velvet pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, Jaune did the same.

"And Goodwitch has been harder on me lately, she's been keeping me after class to teach me personally the proper ways to block various kinds of attacks." Jaune rubbed his shield arm. "You wouldn't believe how hard she can hit. Even harder than Yang I'd say." Velvet laughed at that. She sparred with Yang constantly, there was no way anyone could hit harder than her.

"Tell my bruises that." Blake's frown turned into a small smile. There were only a few people that could successfully cheer her up. Her teammates, Jaune and Velvet, and sometimes Nora. But mostly Nora just gave her headaches.

"Okay, hey Velvet's bruises, Goodwitch could kick Yang's ass!" Velvet giggled and shoved his head.

"Don't be a smartass!" Jaune chuckled and shoved her back, but on her arm and a lot more gently than she shoved him. Blake noticed that. He was so gentle, he was so careful as not not to hurt them. Some would argue that they could handle it, but they were still people. No matter how tough you are, and they were plenty tough, pain was still pain, and injury was still injury, so she was thankful for his gentleness. It also showed that he cared for them a lot more than he let on at times. "Anyway, why don't we go out somewhere on Friday. We'll all be free that day!"

"Sounds like fun! We could go dancing or something!" Jaune jumped out of his seat excitedly. Velvet shuffled in her seat nervously.

"Uh, I'm not much of a dancer."

"Come on, you can't be that bad." Blake patted her back and tried her best to reassure her.

"I'm terrible. I took a dance class with my brother once, I kept stepping on his feet. I was so terrible they kicked me out." Jaune whistled causing Velvet to punch him in the arm. "All I'm saying is I don't wanna embarrass you guys."

"You won't embarrass us anymore than we'll embarrass ourselves." Velvet rolled her eyes.

"You both say that, but as soon as I get out on the dance floor, whichever one of you is dancing with me is gonna regret it."

"Is that a yes?" Blake asked excitedly. She loved to dance, and she needed some time to relax. What better way than dancing with her lovers?

"Yeah… Just don't say I didn't warn you." Blake smiled widely, and Jaune cheered in victory.

* * *

Velvet wasn't lying, she was in fact a horrible dancer. She did step on Jaune and Blake's feet a lot, but they didn't mind. They were just as bad as her once, she just needed to get used to it. Jaune and Velvet were dancing in the middle of a crowd of couples, she was flusteredly trying to copy his moves without making it seem like that was what she was trying to do. She knew someone had to lead, and she wasn't sure if it was her or Jaune. He excused himself and walked off to get a drink, Blake took over for him. "Blake, we've been dancing for hours now, I don't think I'm getting any better."

"Nonsense, you've gotten better. Your footwork has improved, you're not stepping on our feet as much as before! Ow."

"Sorry. Blake, I'm gonna take a break. My feet are starting to hurt. Give you and Jaune a chance to dance for a while."

"Alright." Jaune returned to find Blake waiting patiently for him on the dance floor.

"Where's Velvet?"

"She's taking a little break, now dance with me!" Jaune pulled her close to him.

"Gladly." Velvet sighed as she watched Jaune and Blake dance. She wanted to be there with them, she wanted to be held close as well. But her less than stellar skills didn't allow her to. They danced with such amazing skill and accuracy, there was no confusion, and no stepping on each other's feet. It was beautiful, and she wanted to experience it so badly, but she could only watch. Jaune and Blake danced for a couple more minutes before heading over to their table.

"Hey guys, are you done already?" They sat down on both sides of her and sighed.

"Are you not having fun, Velv?" Asked Jaune, disappointment in his voice.

"Well, not really. I'm sorry guys… I told you I was bad at dancing!" Blake put an arm around her.

"Velv, everyone's good at different things, a lot of people suck at dancing, but they do it anyway! It's all about having fun, you don't have to be good, even at slow dancing. Slow dancing is all about being close to your partner, so do it, and pay no mind to how awful you are. To be honest, I suck at dancing, and so does Jaune."

"Yo." He confirmed.

"That can't be true, I saw you guys out there, you were dancing so well, it was amazing."

"That's because we were focusing on each other, not if we were doing well or not." Velvet looked over to Jaune and he nodded.

"Oh… I'd like to try again, if that's okay with you guys."

"Of course." They said in unison.

"Let's go Jaune!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor, he put his hands in position once more. She placed her head on his chest and focused on his heart beat. It worked. She wasn't stepping on his feet, and she wasn't nervous. She was just dancing with someone she held dear, and it was wonderful. She had never experienced such closeness with anyone before, and before she knew it, it was gone. He stepped away and Blake took over. She did the same thing, causing Blake to purr in happiness. Velvet blushed as Blake's more animalistic instincts kicked in. Velvet was thankful she was able to share the experience with her loves, she soon grew tired and fell asleep mid dance. Blake caught her as she began to fall. She giggled and gently picked her up bridal style, carrying her over to the table.

"We should head back, she wore herself out back there." Jaune ruffled her hair gently.

"Alright, here, I got her." Blake handed her to him, she groaned in her sleep.

"No, come back warmth…" She mumbled. Jaune laughed and held her closer. She snuggled into him, smiling as the warmth returned. He felt his heart speed up, he swore she was going to give him a heart attack someday.

* * *

"Alright, well I'd better get her back to her dorm." Jaune said as they arrived at the door to RWBY's dorm.

"Oh no you don't, today was amazing, and I'll be damned if tonight's not going to be as well!" Blake protested, pulling him into the dorm and quietly shutting the door behind them.


	23. I Miss You

Ruby's face was lit up by the dim light of her scroll, she stared sadly at Jaune's text. This was the first time they were separated ever since they got together, and she absolutely hated it. Her team constantly tried to cheer her up, telling her that he would be back once the week was over, but it didn't help much. The black text on the screen spelled out only one thing, one simple phrase that made her want to cry.

_Jaune: I miss you…_

She typed a reply with lightning fast speed, not caring about seeming desperate. She wanted to talk with him, she _needed_ to talk with him. She wished that she could talk over webcam, but that wouldn't be fair to her team. They needed their sleep, and she didn't want to be the one to keep them up.

_Ruby: I miss you too… I wish you were here beside me, I can't sleep._

She pressed send and watched as the little bubble popped up, showing that he was just as eager to talk to her as she was to him. She smiled as his message appeared on the screen.

_Jaune: Neither can I. I wish you could have come, my parents really want to meet you, and I wouldn't have to sleep alone. But I understand, your team comes first._

She held in a sigh of regret. Weiss had made it clear, if she went with Jaune, she would make Ruby clean the dorm for a week and do everyone's homework to make up for the time she lost. It would have been so worth it, being able to get a good nights sleep with her snuggle buddy. Jaune had spent the night, and he slept with her in her bed. Ever since that night, she couldn't sleep without him, and once this little bit of information was discovered, the two teams made arrangements for Jaune to sleep in their dorm. Yang thought it was adorable, Blake couldn't stop noticing the innuendos her teammates were unknowingly making, and Weiss was, of course, against it for obvious reasons.

_Ruby: My team wasn't the problem. Weiss was the problem. Yang and Blake were all for me going with you, but Weiss wanted me to stay and study… But whatever, what are you up to? ;)_

Ruby bit her lip, maybe it would be okay to try this again? The last few times were awkward, and led to Jaune getting punched in the nards by Yang, but maybe this time it'll be different?

_Jaune: Ruby… No. You remember how this ended last time. Besides, we clearly don't know how to do this properly. Can't this wait til I get back, I promise we can make up for lost time then!_

Ruby's expression changed to one of disappointment, but she smiled at his promise. Besides, it was better when she didn't have to pretend that it was him doing it. Still, she wished she could fall asleep.

_Ruby: Alright! :D Can we do the webcam thing again?_

She smiled happily as she read his reply.

_Jaune: Sure! :)_

She silenced her scroll quickly and answered his call. He smiled at her, his hair messy and his blankets strewn wildly across his body. He was wearing regular sleeping clothes as she somehow convinced him to ditch his onesie. (It was now in her closet, and she sometimes wore it when she felt sad.) She waved at him and he waved back, she moved a pillow and set it up where the scroll was facing her. They both closed their eyes to try and sleep, both of them finding it a little easier than before, and comforted by the knowledge that they could see each other. Before they knew it, they were sleeping peacefully dreaming dreams of love.


	24. Overload

"Miss Rose, please tell us all, what is the reason…" Ruby didn't hear him finish, she drowned out all sound as she seemed to stare off in the distance. She was standing in front of the whole class, all eyes were on her and she didn't like it, she didn't want to be there, she wanted to be sitting comfortably in her seat where no one would pay any attention to her. The world seemed to darken, and she felt herself grow extremely hot. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck and her mouth became dry, her eyes widened as the situation suddenly became far too real for her comfort. Her mouth was shut tightly, and no matter how hard she tried, she could get out a single word. She wanted desperately to speak, people were going to think she was a freak, but she couldn't. She just stood there like a statue. "Are you okay, Miss Rose?" She couldn't answer. She saw Yang giving her a supportive smile, Jaune looked worried for her, and then it hit her, she was embarrassing herself in front of her friends, not to mention her crush.

Everything got worse, every sound amplified by massive amounts, every stare became menacing, every single bit of air that grazed her skin felt cold and cruel. She started shaking, and everyone knew that something was wrong. She quickly put her hood over her head grasped the red cloth tightly. Jaune knew exactly what was happening. Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs and dropped down to the floor, everyone gasped in shock. Oobleck tried to reach for her, Jaune stood up and rushed over to her. "Don't touch her! It's a very bad idea to touch her right now!"

"Alright, since you seem to know what's going on I'll excuse you both from classes for today."

"Thank you, Professor." Oobleck nodded as Jaune knelt down to talk to the sobbing girl. "Come on, Ruby, let's get out of here." She stood up slowly and and walked out of the classroom, Jaune following from a respectable distance. Once out, Ruby started for the exit.

"I need to be outside, it helps me," she explained erratically.

"Alright." As they stepped out into the courtyard, Ruby's grip on her cloak tightened and she shivered. She walked over to a bench and sat down, sighing in relief and frustration. The area was a lot more quiet than usual, what with classes being in session, they were the only people out there, and Ruby was glad. She didn't think she could deal with anyone else seeing her like that, Jaune was bad enough. She looked over at him, he was looking around and seemed to be enjoying the silence. She took a deep breath and stretched, she felt a lot better, but she knew that it could happen again at any moment.

"Thank you, Jaune. Thank you so much!" He looked over at her in surprise, she hugged him gently.

"You're welcome," he replied softly. "Are you okay?"

"I am now," she wiped her eyes on her sleeve, "dust, you must think I'm so pathetic."

"I don't think that at all, I do want to know what caused it though, if you're okay with telling me." She leaned back and frowned.

"I have selective mutism, it's very hard for me in situations like that, and sometimes I get really bad."

"Oh. Well I'm sure that Ozpin could make special arrangements for you if it was brought to his attention." Ruby never really thought of it, she smiled and kicked her feet against the ground.

"Yeah, I guess I really should tell him. Or, you know, you could do it for me," She asked shyly.

"Of course, but I think you'll still need to be there."

"I won't have to talk, right?"

"Probably not." That was good enough for her.

"Alright." Silence washed over them one again, and they enjoyed the beautiful sights, and the sounds of the birds in the trees. Ruby felt a hand touch hers, her face turned bright red as she looked over at Jaune. His face was a similar shade, and he was looking away from her. She smiled and sighed, this time out of contentment. They sat there, holding hands and enjoying the comfortable atmosphere until the bell went off, signalling the end of classes. "Hey Jaune?"

"Yeah?" She kissed him on the cheek.


	25. Scarlet Fever

Velvet was open to try anything once, anything except illegal stuff. She smiled shyly at Ruby, who was currently clutching her cloak tightly and looking extremely embarrassed. The two of them had been going out with Jaune for a while now, both completely okay with it of course. True, Ruby was shocked when he had asked for her permission to ask Velvet out, but she had given him her blessing, and after hanging out with the bunny faunus more, could clearly see why he was interested in her. She was extremely cute, those ears of hers just made Ruby want to cuddle her to death! She was also extremely intelligent, often times showing even Weiss up in her intellectual pursuits. She was just absolutely perfect in every way, and Ruby would be lying to herself if she said she hadn't developed a crush on the girl as well. So she did what anyone in her situation would do: ask her boyfriend's girlfriend out.

Velvet laughed as Ruby's face grew even more red, Ruby was adorable, and it was easy to see what Jaune saw in her. She was very talented when it came to combat, and she was extremely knowledgeable when it came to baking, she had actually fallen in love with the girl's cooking over the time they've hung out. Those silver irises of hers, so unique, and so extraordinarily beautiful, were so enchanting that it was hard not to get totally lost in them. Velvet might have developed a small crush on her, apparently she had a crush on her too. Velvet pulled Ruby into a hug. "Of course I'll go out with you! Though we should probably tell Jaune before we do."

"Oh no, I completely forgot to mention it to him, do you think he'll say yes?" She seemed genuinely worried that he wouldn't agree with it.

"I don't think we need to worry, of course he'll say yes, I mean try to think of it from his perspective, his two girlfriends going out on a date? Something tells me he'll be all for it." Ruby nodded, she knew she didn't need to worry about it, she had given him permission to go after Velvet, why wouldn't he give her his?

"Of course he will, I'm just being silly, I worry about things a bit too much." Ruby smiled at her, her smile faded and she seemed to focus on Velvet's ears. Velvet blushed as the girl stared. "Uh, Ruby? Why are you staring at my ears?"

"Can I touch them?" Velvet's face flushed and she looked away in embarrassment, she nodded slowly, giving her consent. Ruby reached up and caressed the fluffy ears, petting them as she would a real bunny. Velvet sighed in bliss, her knees nearly giving way. Ruby laughed at her cute display, stopping herself from scratching behind them. Ruby leaned in closer, her instincts telling her to seal the deal. Velvet leaned in as well. Ruby could feel Velvet's breath against her face, her breathing hitched, her lips quivered as they embraced. Their lips begged each other for more, their minds blank as their tongues fought for dominance, their hands grabbed, their legs shook.

They separated, a thin string of saliva connecting their lips. "That was simultaneously the hottest and cutest thing I have ever seen!" They looked over to the door to see Jaune staring at them, his eyes wide and a hand on his heart. "Are you two trying to kill me? Because that's what it seems like." They both looked away embarrassed, Jaune walked up to them and hugged them tightly. "So, you two are a thing now? I'm totally okay with this."

"R-really?" Ruby asked.

"Of course, now do that again so I can get a picture."

"Jaune!" In an instant he was down on the ground, covered in pillows.


	26. Sweet Treat

Neo tensed up as he drew closer. Jaune studied the small girl intensely, her irises changing color as they stared into each others eyes. Jaune had always found that so enchanting. Her jaws were clenched tightly she seemed incredibly nervous, he grabbed hold of her hands. She sighed and relaxed slightly. There was a huge gap in communication between them, she couldn't talk, she couldn't tell him how she was feeling, but she trusted him to know. He backed off, her hands still in his, he seemed to understand, even when she couldn't say 'no' he knew her body language well enough.

Jaune hugged her close to him, having to bend over awkwardly due to the height difference. "Don't worry, I understand." She kissed him on the cheek, he laughed as she had to lean up on her tiptoes to do even that. Her height was something she was always made fun of for, especially by Yang who had apparently not forgotten her past grudges against her. It was mostly harmless teasing, but sometimes she took it a bit too far, he usually put a stop to that pretty quickly. Neo had redeemed herself, after team RWBY had taken down Torchwick, she immediately set out to make amends with everyone she had wronged under his command. Which wasn't easy due to her disability, but she had managed. After she had explained the situation via a five page apology letter everyone was happy to forgive and forget. Except Yang, but she gave in eventually.

After all was said and done, she was invited into the group and she was more than happy to oblige. For the first time in a long time, she had friends. Friends she could count on, who would never betray her, or make her do terrible things just because she owed them. She was finally happy, especially after she found out about her feelings for Jaune. Everyone was shocked when they started dating, but everyone adapted to the change quite quickly. They got used to the kisses, and the hugs, and Jaune quietly whispering into her ear when he thought no one was watching.

Jaune picked her up, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, placing her face in his neck. She laughed silently as she held onto him tightly. She closed her eyes and exhaled onto his neck, sending shivers down his spine. He tightened his grip around her thighs, making her gasp and clench her eyes tightly. "You really shouldn't do that, I might drop ya!" She pouted, pushing her head deeper into him. He sat down on his bed, enjoying the feeling of closeness. She separated from him, laying down beside him and closing her eyes. He placed a hand on her head, brushing the strands of hair out of her face. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, she smiled sleepily. "I love you, Neo." She opened her eyes in surprise, that was the first time he had told her that. She signed the phrase back to him.


	27. Dog Park Proposal

Ruby knelt down and let Zwei off of the leash, he jumped and yipped happily, running off into the fields to play with the other dogs at the park. Jaune whistled in amazement at how fast he was, he seemed to zip all over the place at the speed of light. "That dog can defy the laws of nature, I swear it." Ruby giggled at his comment, getting back up and clinging back onto his arm. They walked over to the bench and sat down, watching Zwei play with a little Shiba puppy. "That's adorable."

"Yeah, this was a good idea! It's been a long time since we were really able to relax, let alone spend time with each other… It's funny to think that we've been together for three years, doesn't really feel like that long, huh?" The different colored dogs seemed like little stubby shapes that kept tripping over each other, occasionally a big dog would join in, causing the little ones to team up to take him down.

"Nope, I suppose that means we're doing something right. I was thinking last night, about how much harder things have been lately. All these missions, hardly any time to rest… I realized, they're preparing us for what's ahead. Our time at Beacon is almost up, just one more year, and then we move on to the real thing. It's kind of overwhelming, but I know that there's nothing to be worried about, we've got our teams, and we've already been through so much."

"Yeah, I still can't believe we convinced Ozpin to join our teams together once we graduate, that'll be absolutely amazing! Traveling the world together, fighting crime together… All eight of us. We'll be unstoppable!" Jaune laughed as her eyes lit up, no matter how much she grew, she would always be the same childish girl!

"It will be pretty awesome! But you wanna know something that would be even more awesome?" She looked over to him curiously, he smiled and stared into her silver eyes. She blushed, she could see the love he held for her in his eyes.

"What?"

"Ruby, ever since I met you, I knew you were special, I knew that you would be destined for great things, extraordinary things. I remember thinking 'this girl is going to go far, she's gonna be one hell of a huntress.' And I was right, in only three years, you've managed to capture my heart, at least three major criminals, and kill thousands of Grimm. You really are amazing, and I thought to myself before bed every night, 'I'm so lucky to have her in my life.' I've made so many stupid decisions, but sneaking my way into Beacon was not one of them. In fact, I think it's the best decision I've ever made. I'm hoping this will top it. Ruby Rose, will you marry me?"

He pulled out a wooden box with roses carved all along it, he flipped it open, revealing a beautiful ruby engagement ring. She smiled widely, tears falling from her eyes. "Yes, of course I'll marry you, you big dummy!" They kissed, making the moment absolutely perfect. Some of the other people who realized what was going on cheered for them, the dogs seeming to do the same with their barks. Zwei jumped in between them, congratulating them with licks. Everything seemed to make sense to them in that moment, they knew that their lives were going to be good ones.

* * *


	28. Of Kittens And Backpacks

Real Life AU

* * *

The whole classroom sat in boredom while the teacher droned on about America's history, no one was paying attention, just like always. The clock ticked away and no matter how hard anyone tried, they couldn't make time move any faster. The class seemed to collectively sigh, Ruby was flicking folded up notes to her sister half way across the room, Blake was taking a nap while Sun was drawing on her face with a black sharpie, Weiss was shifting uncomfortably and pretending to pay attention, Nora was leaning extremely far back in her chair, her feet resting on her desk, and Ren was talking away with Pyrrha. Neptune had apparently decided to skip, which really ticked Sun off. The teacher just went on, not caring if his students were actually paying attention to his lesson. Suddenly, everything went silent as a faint mew was heard. Everyone save the teacher turned to Weiss. "What?" She asked quietly.

"What was that?" Ruby leaned over to her from her desk, which just happened to be situated beside hers.

"What was what?" She played dumb. Jaune leaned over from the other side of her.

"You know what, did you bring a stray cat into school again?" Another mew came from her backpack, confirming his suspicions.

"Yes. Wait, no. What?" Jaune leaned down and unzipped her bag, revealing a small grey kitten, no bigger than his hand. He looked back up at her with raised eyebrows. "I know, but it followed me all the way here, I couldn't just leave it! What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh my gosh, it's so cute! I wanna pet it!" Ruby leaned over her reaching for the backpack, causing Weiss to flail about and tumble backwards, she grabbed onto Jaune's hoodie successfully bringing him down with her. Ruby leaned too far and ended up on top of the both of them, the other students laughed at them, causing Blake to wake up and yell at Sun for drawing on her face. The teacher turned and yelled at them, sighing when he saw the position they were in.

"It's always you three, isn't it? Let me guess, Miss Schnee brought in yet another stray kitten?" They all nodded. "Well, you're lucky I'm so fond of cats, I'll let it go this time, but you can't keep doing this Miss Schnee, from now on, any and all kittens you may find outside of school grounds must be brought to the principle before you come to class. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, now back in your seats." The three of them immediately fixed themselves, straightening the chairs and sitting back down as the teacher started up the lecture once more. They sighed and laid their heads on their desks, the kitten mewed once more.


	29. Morning Jog, Or A Change Of Plans

Yang stretched as she prepared to jog around campus, it was part of her daily routine to stay fit and in shape, usually Pyrrha joined her but Jaune said that she had apparently gotten sick during the weekend, effectively putting a hold on her exercising plans for a while. Yang was kind of bummed out about it, she and Pyrrha had become good friends, and she had no one else to jog with, the way she saw it, there was no point in exercising alone, it just wasn't that fun. But it had to be done, so she limbered up and did her breathing techniques. She was about to set off, but was stopped by the sight of Blake running up next to her. "Hey-a, partner! What's got you out of bed so early, you usually sleep in!" She exclaimed.

"Well, I saw how sad you looked last night when Jaune told us all that Pyrrha got sick, and I figured you would like a replacement jogging buddy until she gets better?" Blake was assaulted by a tight hug, going blue in the face. She gasped for air as she was released.

"If you think you can keep up, you're more than welcome to." She smiled widely, holding herself back from jumping up and down in happiness!

"Whenever you're ready!" Yang punched her arm and started off, Blake double taked as she seemed to speed off faster than Ruby on a sugar high! She ran after her, slowing down as she reached her, already out of breath. Yang laughed as she slowed down to catch her breath. "Am I really so out of shape?" She asked flusteredly. Yang jogged in place beside her, patting her on the back.

"Maybe you should start jogging with me and Pyrrha from now on." Blake glared at her.

"Maybe I should!" She poked Yang in the ribs, making her giggle. She smirked and narrowed her eyes, tackling her to the ground and tickling her!

"B-Blake! Please, no, I can't breathe!"

"Well, well, well, the tables have turned, Xiao Long!" She teased, standing up and letting the blond breathe. Yang got her extra laughs out and tried to stand up, stumbling and grabbing onto Blake's clothing, falling down again and bringing Blake with her. She fell on top of her, wincing in pain as their foreheads smashed together. They opened their eyes, Blake gasped as Yang's lilac irises entranced her. Neither knew exactly who initiated it, but they kissed, it was only a short, innocent kiss, but it was a kiss nonetheless. They both laughed after fully realizing the situation.

"Well, that was a thing." Yang mumbled. Blake nodded.

"Yeah… Yeah it was." They both smiled and stood back up, forgetting jogging altogether and settling for walking around and holding hands.


	30. You Deserve It

Ruby looked on in awe as Pyrrha plowed her way through several training bots, the sweat made her skin shine in the light and her beautiful red hair whipped to and fro as she dodged the incoming strikes with ease. Her muscles flexed as she swiped and jabbed, she flipped through the air with acrobatic precision and she never once missed a beat. She seemed to dance to a song that neither could hear, and she was completely absorbed into the moment. As the buzzer went off signalling the end to the training session, Pyrrha knelt down and caught her breath, her chest rising and falling gently with each one. Ruby ran up to her, her mouth hanging open from the beauty she had just witnessed. "Pyrrha, that was absolutely amazing!" Pyrrha smiled as she watched Ruby stumble up to her, nearly tripping on the way.

"Thanks, Ruby, but that was nothing, I'm sure you could do it just as good as I can!" Ruby blushed at her words, the biggest smile Pyrrha had ever seen on her face. Ruby handed her a water bottle and she greedily drunk down the cold, crisp, refreshing liquid as if her life depended on it.

"Really!?" Ruby asked excitedly, her eyes wide. Pyrrha chuckled and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Sure you can, I've seen you fight, you're amazing!" Ruby visibly gushed at her praise, hiding her blushing face behind her hands. "I'll tell you what, why don't you try and do the same setting I just did? I'll give you a prize if you make it all the way through!" Ruby all but ran into the training arena, setting the robots to the correct level and starting the training session. Pyrrha grinned as she tore through the bots with little difficulty, she was doing fine. Until the bigger ones came in that is. Ruby was smacked out of the arena, landing with a thud and a pained grunt. "Ruby!" Pyrrha cried, rushing over to her.

"I failed… I knew I wasn't as good as you." She mumbled, Pyrrha wrapped her up in her arms and held her close to her chest.

"Ruby, you did really well, I'm impressed you managed to get so far!" Ruby smiled faintly. "So, because you impressed me, I think I'll give you that prize anyway!"

"B-but I didn't earn it!"

"No, but you deserve it!" Pyrrha leaned in and kissed her, Ruby squeaked in surprise, but eventually she relaxed and kissed her back.

"I really like you, Pyrrha…" Ruby said as they pulled away.

"I really like you too, Ruby. Now come on!" Pyrrha pulled her up.

"Where are we going?"

"To get some ice cream, that's your prize after all!" Pyrrha winked at her and led her out of the training room with a smile.


	31. Staring Contest

Yang stared down at Neo as she stared back up. Their eyes narrowed slightly in determination. Neither daring to move, or even blink. Suddenly the door to the dorm opened up and in waltzed Ruby, who froze upon noticing the two of them. She cast a curious look over to Blake, who only shrugged and glanced back down to her book. "They've been like that for the past ten minutes, they haven't blinked once."

"And I ain't gonna, either!" Said Yang through grit teeth.

'What she said!' Signed Neo, who growled at Yang. Yang only smirked and growled back. Ruby sighed and shook her head. Inviting Neo to stay in their dorm wasn't the brightest idea, what with her and Yang's rivalry, but she couldn't say that she didn't have a fun time because of it. Neo really was dedicated to turning over a new leaf, and both team RWBY, and team JNPR were happy to help her.

Her progress was actually astounding, starting from simple good deeds, to large scale charity work, she's really made a difference. Though her personality still needed a little work. She was mischievous, maybe a little too much. Ruby couldn't count the amount of times she had woken up to her entire world shattering in front of her. the first time that happened, she actually fell down on Weiss' bunk, landing right on top of her. No one got any sleep that morning.

Being woken up by a screaming Weiss is not a fun experience. Even team JNPR were waken up, and their poor neighbors as well. Ruby giggled as she remembered Glynda's face as she asked people to stop complaining about how thin the walls were in the dorms. She even sat her team down and gave them a stern talking too, sans Neo of course as she wasn't actually a student, and wasn't allowed to sit in on the classes.

"You two just had to decide to hold a staring contest in the middle of the dorm?" Weiss complained, entering in behind Ruby.

"She started it!" Yang said, not even tearing her eyes away for a second.

'Did not!' Neo signed back in reply. Weiss just sighed before walking to her bed and sitting down gracefully, deciding to study since the dorm was actually quiet for once. Ruby decided the same, smiling and blushing when she saw Weiss looking at her proudly.

Yang's eye twitched, Neo's did not. Her eyes changed color, Yang smirked. She knew it was meant to freak her out, a scare tactic, but it never worked, and it never would. Yang actually thought the fact she could do that was cool. "You aren't going to win, give it up." Neo shook her head slightly, never breaking eye contact. "There's nothing you can do to make me blink! It's impossible!" Neo thought for a moment, placing a hand on her chin. She lit up and put her finger in the air, a light bulb appearing above her. "What you think that's going to make me blink? I'm used to all your dirty little illusion tricks now!"

'No, that wasn't supposed to make you lose, but this is!' Neo kissed Yang, she backed up and flinched, stuttering and blushing.

"W-what…" Neo raised her hands in the air and jumped up and down. Blake, Weiss, and Ruby all turned to look at the two of them.

"What… What happened?" Ruby asked upon noticing her sister blushing up a storm. Neo smiled widely in victory.

'I won, that's what happened!' She walked out of the dorm with a sassy strut. Yang only stared at her as she left.

'W-wow, oh my gosh, I'm so gay!' She thought, as her heart threatened to burst out of her chest.


	32. Personality Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOC Weiss, because why not. I thought it was pretty funny, anyway... ;_;

If there was one thing that was very obvious to Jaune Arc, it would be that Weiss Schnee was not acting much like herself at the moment. Not very much like herself at all. She clung to his arm with a huge smile on her face, much like Ruby always did. And the scary thing is that she was exuding an alarming amount of cheer, that was not at all what he had come to know from the girl. In fact, it seemed like she had become the opposite of how she was overnight!

Everyone stared at her with apprehension and awe as she stared at Jaune with hearts in her eyes, Ruby, Yang, and Blake all whispered to each other as Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha all smiled at the two of them, seemingly aware of something that no one else was. Jaune was perhaps the most perplexed of all though, as Weiss wouldn't leave his side no matter what he did, or said!

He even called her Snow Angel, and she  _blushed!_  Jaune was absolutely terrified for his life, confused, and absolutely worried for the sanity of the heiress that seemed surgically attached to him all of a sudden. "Weiss, Snow Angel, I really need to go to the bathroom, so can you please let go of me? For just a few minutes?" Weiss only blushed.

"It's okay, Jaune, I can go with you!" Jaune grumbled as Yang started laughing, Blake's jaw fell to the floor, and Ruby nearly fainted. You see, team RWBY was basically stuck walking with Jaune everywhere he went, looking out for Weiss so she didn't end up doing anything to embarrass herself while she was stuck in whatever mental state she was currently in.

As you can probably guess, it only served to annoy Blake, give Yang more ammo for her teasing and blackmail, and give Ruby a chance to witness how even the highest members of society can act like they were raised in a barn. "You will most certainly not!" Jaune cried. "Please, Yang for the love of dust, get her off of me!" She only laughed harder.

"Sorry, Jaune, I don't feel like getting frozen today!" He groaned. He continued past the bathrooms, forgetting his need to go and getting on with the rest of his day. Throughout the day they followed him, and Weiss clung to him like a lost puppy. When he was getting lunch, when he was studying in the library, even when he was getting coffee for his study break. She was there. And by extension, the rest of her team was there, trying not to look too awkward, and studying with him, as well as taking notes for Weiss so as not to lose any progress.

As the day neared its end, he decided to head back to his dorm, where his team would no doubt be waiting with their calm smiles, and patient demeanors. Sans Nora of course. As he entered the dorms, he immediately grew weary as the weight of the day and its events suddenly thrust themselves upon him. As he approached their dorms, he realized that there was absolutely no way his teammates would accept Weiss into the room for the night.

"Okay, you know what? I'm probably going to pay for this tomorrow, but I could honestly care less right now!" Jaune grabbed Weiss' head and leaned into her, kissing her on the lips. Weiss squealed and let go of him, falling back in surprise with an overjoyed expression on her face. Her eyes wide, and her body shaking in excitement.

"Oh, wow!" She sighed dreamily. "That was better than I thought it would be!"

"Get her while she's dazed!" Ruby shouted, all three of them lunged at her, picking her up off the ground. "Now, let's get her back to the dorm so she can't cause anymore damage!" Jaune sighed as they cheered, opening the door to their dorm and throwing her inside. As soon as the door closed, he heard what sounded like an explosion and kitchen utensils flying all about.

"Well, I'll deal with it tomorrow." He said softly, turning around and going inside his dorm. His team all turned to look at him. "You can all exhale, she's not with me."

"Oh thank dust!" Pyrrha exclaimed as Nora, and Ren let out the breath they were holding in. "How did you get rid of her?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it. Just remember that if I show up in class tomorrow with random bruises, don't even acknowledge them." They all nodded as Jaune walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed.


	33. Generic Sick Fic

Yang had absolutely no idea how she had ended up sick in bed, with Jaune bowing to her every whim, but she had to say she was really enjoying it. Having him look up from his scroll every time she coughed and have him ask if she was alright was kind of annoying, but for some strange reason, she really liked that he was showing so much worry. It was as if she had just realized how much she meant to him, and she thought it was kind of endearing how completely focused on making her better he was.

 _Cough._  He was there, with soup at the ready.  _Cough._  He was there with a warm rag.  _Cough._  He was there, and she loved it. The way his eyes gazed down upon her as she snuggled up with Zwei, covered in a mass of blankets (which he had to constantly take on and off), and with a small bucket beside her bed just in case she was feeling just sick enough.

Sure she could do everything herself, fever, cold, or no, she was perfectly capable of helping herself, and he knew it, but he absolutely refused to let her. And she was silently thankful as he checked her temperature for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day, and kept everyone out of the room so they wouldn't get sick. He was honestly too concerned about his friends' health over his, if he was to get sick so no one else had to then so be it. She admired that about him, no matter how reckless or stupid it was.

She stirred tirelessly and cleared her sore throat, croaking for Jaune who appeared by her side faster than she could say his name. "Yes, Yang?" He asked sweetly, his eyes shining with pleasure to serve her.

"Water." Was all she could say, and he fetched it. "Warmth." He turned on the heater and tucked her in more. She found it to be much easier to fall asleep than before, yet still something didn't seem right, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was. Something big was missing, and she needed it to fall asleep.

She quickly gave up on thinking about it, and turned her thoughts once more to Jaune. She opened one eye and stared at him as he did whatever he was doing on his scroll. Probably talking to Ruby, no doubt. He looked to be extremely bored though, and Yang felt that that wasn't right at all. If he was stuck in here helping her get better when he could be hanging out with the others, she would try and think of a way to make sure he enjoyed himself more. But nothing came to her immediately, as sick as she was she couldn't focus.

And then a thought came to her, a stray thought that she normally would not have thought of at all. But for whatever reason it seemed like a good idea, and actually pretty nice, and that might actually solve her problem as well. She called out to him, "Warmth." Yet again, he turned the heater up. And again, she called. He turned it up all the way. Once more she croaked, and Jaune not knowing what to do, looked around the room hopelessly. She pulled the blankets up, and whimpered "warmth," for the last time.

 


	34. Chapstick

Yang moaned in what was perhaps the most sexual way that Blake had ever heard. Blake blushed and looked away, before double taking and looking back in shock at exactly what had caused her to make such a noise. The strawberry chapstick smoothly glided across Yang's lips, moisturising them, making them shine in the light. Blake couldn't look away. Back and forth, back and forth, two times, three times… Yang just wouldn't stop, and she couldn't stop watching.

And every time she did it, she would moan. Blake's face was flushed so red, that she was sure anyone could probably read her mind at that moment. What she wouldn't give to swat that chapstick out of her hand and kiss her like the fate of the world depended on it. But she somehow managed to turn away as Yang finished applying it, and stuffed the stick back into her pocket. "Blake, you ready to go? Weiss said she and Ruby would be a bit late, so that means it's only me and you for a few!" She finished off the sentence with a wink, and Blake rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure let's get going."

* * *

They walked across the boardwalk as the evening sun shone upon them, and Blake absolutely loved the warm feeling of the sun on her skin. Winter had finally ceased, and spring was now in bloom, and while that meant she had to go through some rather annoying things thanks to her faunus heritage, she put that all to the back of her mind and instead gazed out at the sea spanning the distance, shining and shimmering as if thousands of pearls floated across the surface of the water. That is, until she heard yet another moan come from beside her.

A small glance revealed that Yang was, yet again, applying chapstick. Though to her credit, it was at least a different flavor. It was cherry. She clenched her fists tightly, and gritted her teeth, trying her hardest to turn her attention away from the somewhat exaggerated noises she was making. And then came sigh of relief as she put the chapstick away for the second time that day. "It sure is a beautiful day, isn't it Blake?" Yang asked. Blake shot her a smile and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm so glad it's finally spring!" And with that, they continued on.

* * *

A lot could be said about the willpower of Blake Belladonna. She had withstood torture, intense monthly pain, intense sexual urges, and most of all she put up with having Yang Xiao Long as her partner. However, the same willpower that had helped her survive through all of that, was facing its breaking point as for the third, excruciatingly painful time, Yang was applying chapstick. Again a different flavor. It was grape. Blake loved grape.

Blake could swear that Yang was just trying to tempt her now, just trying to lure her into doing something drastic. And each and every moan and pant was tearing into her ears with the force of a thousand airships taking off at the same time. She had had enough. "Okay, that's it!" With expert precisions she disarmed Yang of the chapstick, and pushed her into a nearby alley as her eyes flew open. She kissed her like she had always wanted to, Yang's fruity lips quivered as Blake held her up against the brick wall.

Blake's hands wandered to her sides, over every inch of exposed skin they could find, making her blush and moan far more than when she was just putting on chapstick. Blake savored the taste of grape as she pulled away from her, smirking at the state she had left her in. Yang's hair was disheveled, and she was sweating and panting profusely. "You uh… You ever realize how hot it is out here?" Yang asked between gulps of air. They both laughed and smiled at each other happily.

"So uh, yeah, what was up with that moaning? I'd have kissed you if you asked me to." Yang looked confused, but laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, no, that's just a weird habit I picked up from Rubes, she always does that."

* * *

Weiss stretched her arms back and enjoyed the warmth as Ruby skipped along beside her, they were on their way to their agreed upon meeting place with Yang and Blake. "Ah, I love winter, but spring always makes me feel so energetic!" Weiss exclaimed, Ruby hummed an agreement and began singing a tune merrily. Silence fell upon them, and Weiss listened in appreciation to the tweets of the birds, and the flutter of butterflies' wings.

But instantly every bone in her body gave way, every muscle tensed, and a sheer look of utter horror etched itself onto her face, as Ruby let out the loudest sexual noise ever right beside her, and in public no less! She quickly turned to look, as Ruby put on her chocolate chip cookie flavored chapstick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #sorrynotsorry We all have that one friend who makes super sexual noises when doing the most mundane things. I am that friend.


	35. HA, GAY

Sun crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes issuing a challenge to Neptune, who stared back as if contemplating if it was really worth it. "And you promise that you'll just drop this entire thing, if I do this?" Sun flashed him a charming smile and gave a thumbs up, Neptune merely sighed and looked up at the tall stack of books that was Sun's homework. "And why haven't you done this yet?" Sun shrugged.

"I dunno, just didn't feel like it. Just do it for me, nerd." Neptune raised a finger and shot a glare.

"I prefer-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, intellectual, I know. Now get to work!" Neptune shook his head as Sun casually ate a banana. Wondering where he even got it in the first place, he began to regret his decision as Sun chewed slowly, savoring the flavor of the banana and swallowing with a gulp. Neptune winced.

 _Don't you dare give in,_  he thought. Blushing at the way Sun was looking at him, as if he expected him to just magically be done with the mountainous stack of work in an instant.

"You know, all of this could be over with if you'd just k-" He was interrupted by a desperate growl from Neptune.

"I am NOT doing that!" Sun shrugged in response and winked as if to say 'have fun.' He finally sat down at the desk and started on the work, most of it being easy since he remembered it from when he himself did it. Hours passed by as he listened to the ticking of the clock, and the occasional snide remark from Sun. His hand cramped up and he sat his now tiny pencil down, and stood up to shake the pain away.

"Wow, all this time, and you're only half done. If only there was a way you coul-" Neptune kissed him. It was the most innocent kiss ever, but Sun enjoyed it more than anything. It had been their first, and he smiled as Neptune flushed ruby red, tuning away to hide his embarrassment. "Now there's just one thing you have to do, admit it!" Neptune froze up.

"A-admit what?"

"Admit that you love me, of course!"

"I am NOT saying that!"

"Come on, Nep, just say it, you know it's true!" Neptune shook his head, but gave in with a deep moan of annoyance.

"I lo-love…" He whispered, and as if to mock him further, Sun cupped a hand around his ear and leaned in. "I said I love… Y…" Sun leaned in even further. "Dammit, I said I love you!" Sun laughed and pulled him into a tight hug.

"I love you too, man."


	36. Their Own World

The wind whistled through the branches of the tree and rustled the leaves, creating a relaxing spring atmosphere as Blake and Ren sat in the shade, the peace and quiet giving them time together for what felt like the first time in a long while. Blake's ears twitched in the breeze, glad to be free from the usual black cloth of her bow. She felt safe around Ren. Content. They were off in their own little world, far away from the troubles of the other world, and far away from prying eyes hoping to catch a glimpse of the beauty that was their relationship.

She looked down at the flowers to the left of her, counting them as she inhaled the crisp air with a sense of happiness only being with  _him_  could bring. He leaned back against the tree and she laid her head down on his lap, and after a moment of surprise he brought his hand down and slowly caressed her hair, rubbing her ears and taking pleasure in the fact that only he was allowed to do that. He hummed softly, a long loved melody that could have belonged to some old song his parents used to sing when he was a baby, he couldn't remember, but sooner or later it would become her favorite melody as well, and she would sing it to her daughter as she laid her down to sleep in her crib; in a world that held no prejudice towards her and the cat ears perched atop her beautiful head.

It only took one look up at his smiling face to realize, that smile, that face, that gentle yet firm countenance that held a beauty beyond which she thought even existed, was hers. And it always would be. Just as much as she was his. And she couldn't even begin to imagine how he felt about that, how much he loved her. He looked down and smiled, her lovely amber eyes nearly glistened with tears at the lovestruck gaze he gave. And in that moment, so far away from reality, the look of love so powerful in his eyes, she understood. He understood. They would be together always. An unspoken promise that would help them through many hardships, bring them out safe from harm, and of course secure a future full of happiness.

"Perhaps it's time we go back," Ren eventually spoke. And with a sigh, Blake took the lead and stood up, offering him a hand. A hand he never let go of all the way to the dorms.

"I hope we can do this again sometime, it was a nice break," Blake said, as they stood between their rooms. He nodded, and gave her a look that said more than words could possibly say. They kissed, and as it usually went they parted with a look of longing.

"I'll see you again tomorrow, love," he said, and she knew it was more of a promise than a statement. She would be whisked away like so many of the women in her romance novels again. Back under that tree, in the world that was only theirs, far from prying eyes. She opened up her door, and was suddenly thrust back into the real world, back into her troubles, as Ruby welcomed her back, Weiss questioned where she was, and Yang gave a knowing look and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. With a smirk and a laugh, she waved it all off and fell into bed as she picked a book from her pile.

 


	37. As It Was Meant To Be

The moon, shattered yet complete, lent its gentle glow so they could see each other clearly. Her rosy cheeks, his pale skin, reflecting the light and giving off the impression that they were ethereal. Jaune felt that her beauty was too much for this world, Ruby felt the same about his. In this world full of monsters, and black hearted people who would gladly go against you for power, it was shocking to find someone so pure, so untouched by that darkness. And that was exactly what Ruby was. As far as Jaune was concerned, she could do no wrong, she was too innocent. Even he had done some morally grey things to get where he was, but Ruby was a paragon of hope, a beacon if you will, of all the innocence and goodness left in the world.

Just the feeling that sitting next to her gave him was enough to give him shivers. That gaze, that laugh, that cute voice that sounded like an angel singing, to him and only him. Even if she was talking to someone else.  _Jesus,_  he thought,  _she's perfect._  Everything she did was driving him crazy, setting off his senses, making his heart thump even more rapidly as if an alarm were going off inside his chest. And her name, that lovely name that only the most beautiful person could be worthy of having. Jaune held her hand so firmly, as if he were afraid of letting her go lest she disappear completely. If she thought it was uncomfortable, she would have said something. Instead, the blush on her face seemed to say that she enjoyed it very much.

She did. It made her feel safe, even if she was a better fighter than him, the knowledge that he was so close to her was comforting. He ran his thumb over her skin, and she wished that her hand was in a position to where she could do the same. She felt that he was, perhaps, someone she could trust. With her life, with her body, even with her soul. Someone that she wouldn't mind being with for the rest of her life, and she knew at this point that that was very likely. Despite being only seventeen, and being with Jaune for only a year, she wasn't intimidated by that thought, in fact she was delighted. They had talked it over before. Being hunters and huntresses, they were expected to live shorter lives, and it was no surprise that many of their generations hunters were here only because the older generations decided to not take chances and marry the first person they fell in love with.

Despite what people usually think, this has led to a lot of happy marriages, and lives being fulfilled. Indeed, a lot of times the love forged by the flames of war and battle last longer than that formed simply by being together in day to day life. The edges of her mouth were raised into a sappy grin as she laid her head on his shoulder, pushing her face into him and seeking warmth to combat the chill of the night air. He sheltered her from it happily, taking off his hoodie and giving it to her to wear.

They needn't say a thing, they were content with the silence. The silence meant that everything was okay, that everything was totally fine. Yet, Ruby felt it needed to be broken, if only once. She felt she needed to say it, even though it was already known between them. It was, in fact, common knowledge, but it was a necessity. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he answered back. And everything was as it was meant to be.


	38. Morally Gray

How many more times were they going to talk about this, and how many more times was he going to try and make her see something she was incapable of seeing? Cinder sat at their table, a glass of wine sat between her and Jaune, who was looking at her with a hopeful expression. _More like hopeless,_ she thought. He had insisted on this date, she had insisted on roasting him alive. But of course, that didn't even make him budge. The fool was far too brave,  _or stupid,_  for his own good. This was the third time they've talked about this in the last week, "why do you fight against the people trying to make things better," he'd ask. And she'd reply "because the people trying to make things better are only making it worse!"

It was a fruitless task in her eyes. He had, in fact, saved her once. Or at least, he thinks he saved her. She could have easily taken down those rogue White Fang members, but he jumped in before she could act. She had decided, why not humour him for a bit? Let him think he helped her it would probably be funny. Of course, she never could have seen this coming. He wanted so badly to, in his words, help her see the light. But all she could see was darkness. It grew, it slaughtered, it oppressed. It wasn't light, there was no such thing. Morally gray. That's all anything is. All it ever has been.

And against her better judgement, she had told him of her true identity. Because she felt no one would believe him should he decide to tell anyone, and because she actually felt some friendly feelings for him. To her surprise, he never even thought about telling anyone.  _This boy is an enigma._  And she was always his little secret. "Don't you see, a few rusty cogs in the system doesn't corrupt the whole!" She disagreed. They were all corrupt. After all, why would someone like Ozpin, someone Jaune just happened to regard so highly as an inspiration, send children to their deaths in the name of a shameless war?  _Stop staring at me with those pretty eyes of yours!_

"Jaune…" She honestly didn't know what she could say to make him see things her way. If he ever would at all. He just smiled and ate his food.  _Does nothing ever get to you?_  He was so odd. "If you poison the source, then the whole system will be affected." She took a sip of her wine, savoring the flavor. As he was no doubt mentally probing his mind for a reply, she looked at him in thought.  _You're too handsome for your own good._

"I don't think that's true. Even if the source is bad, there will be a few in the system willing to fight against it, to cleanse it. Just like white blood cells against a sickness." She hated when he was right. It was like everything she knew to be real was a lie, and everything she didn't want to be true, was. She didn't want to admit it, but he was slowly chipping away her will to fight. Every time he spoke to her about this, she realized just how at fault she was. How she was only causing more trouble in the long run.

Jaune had a power over her, and she was afraid of that power. "Whatever, I don't want to talk about this anymore." And he didn't press it. He didn't argue against her, even a tiny bit. He just nodded.  _Damn him._  And as the night continued on, they finished off their meals, and though she had tried her hardest to talking him into just walking out of the door, he argued back and paid for their meals.  _You stupid fool._  And as they walked out of the doors, he gave her his hoodie, which just barely fit her.  _Why are you making me feel things?_ And as soon as they were on the airship back to Beacon, she rested her head on his shoulder.  _What the hell are you doing to me?_

She closed her eyes, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. His earlier words echoing inside her head. " _...there will be a few in the system willing to fight against it, to cleanse it."_ And she couldn't help but agree, that maybe she was going about some things in the wrong way.


	39. Two Is Good Enough

It seemed that, despite Pyrrha and Ren's assurances that everything would go okay, everything was not going okay at all. Jaune seemed hesitant, unsure about his every move, and Nora was feeling disheartened about continuing. Her head cocked to the side, his cocked to the opposite side, their lips inches apart and their eyes wide, locked onto each other still as can be. Neither one seemed to want to make the next move, yet neither wanted to back away. " _Is that a bad sign? I feel like that's a bad sign,"_ Nora thought. " _Does my breath stink? God I hope it doesn't stink. Maybe I can…"_  She tried sniffing very subtly, but all she could smell was Jaune's minty breath. " _He must have had some mint gum. He lied to me! I knew he was holding out on me!"_

" _Oh God, I know she can smell the gum, close your mouth, close your mouth,"_  Jaune ordered himself fretfully. " _Oh, too late."_ He knew that look in her eyes, it was barely there, but past the nervousness he could see it. It was the look Ruby got in her eyes when you stole one of her cookies. " _Man, I wish we could make a decision, is she going to kiss me or not? DOES SHE WANT ME TO KISS HER? I can't make decisions like this! Please for the love of all that is holy, Nora, talk to me! Give me a sign!"_  And for a fleeting moment, he thought he saw it. A tiny lip movement sparked hope, but after a few seconds of stillness he decided it was more than likely just a small twitch. " _Oh come on!"_

" _What was that look for? Is he getting fed up? I hope he's not getting fed up. Will you just please let me know if this is what you want? Why do boys have to be so DENSE?!"_ She took a deep breath, and let it out very slowly, trying her hardest not to let it sound like a sigh. " _Never in my life have I felt so tense. Jeez, I wish I could move. My shoulders are starting to hurt."_  She subtly tried to move her shoulders to a more comfortable position, and her eyes widened even further as her bones cracked. Her eyes fluttered, and she let out a sigh of pleasure. " _Okay, that felt good."_

" _I-is she even taking this seriously? I don't feel like she's taking this seriously."_  He tightened up his jaw, and moved his eyes away from her for the first time in minutes.

" _Wait, no, you're not supposed to do that! No, I'm not letting you get away from me tonight, no way!"_  She pulled his head closer to hers and slammed her lips into his. The sudden decision was surprising to both of them, and the stiff awkwardness of a first kiss bled into happiness and laughter as Nora pulled away, giggling childishly as she saw the look on Jaune's face. " _He looks like a fish! Is that the appropriate reaction?"_

" _Oh my God, did she- did we- I…"_ The look of disbelief did not vanish immediately, in fact, it took a while before he had regained awareness enough to kiss her back. Her giggles died down as his lips found themselves crawling back to hers, replaced by a small moan of satisfaction that found its way out of her now tightly coiled chest. Her heart thumped in time with his, and for once she felt truly at peace. No extra energy, no need to fidget around, no need to talk so much. As they separated once again, they both smiled.

" _Woah. He's a really good kisser."_

" _Ha, she's speechless, good one Jaune!"_  The look in her eyes made him feel much more confident, and the way he leaned in again only spurred her on with high hopes for a third kiss, better than the last. The sound it made when his forehead hit hers wasn't exactly what they were expecting, however. "Okay, I think two is good enough." She nodded in agreement.


	40. Masque Of The White Beauty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1920's AU

The ballroom was quite flashy, Jaune had to admit that it was much more fancy than he could have ever envisioned it to be. Not that he had been in very many ballrooms before, he wasn't really of rich blood, and the only reason he had stepped foot inside this one was the invitation he had received only a week before. It was an invitation to a masquerade ball being held by the Schnee Mining Corporation in celebration of the opening of a factory in Vale, a company that everyone knew was run by one of the richest families in Atlas's history. He never expected that he would receive an invite to a party of such high caliber, but he supposed a lot of people must have received them.

As he stared around at the overly illustrious décor of the place, he whistled, clearly impressed with just how much money was being poured into the event. There must have been some other rich families invited as well, and they were trying to impress for sure. He looked left and right, admiring all the colorful outfits and masks, his own yellow and gold attire, daffodil tucked in his suit pocket included, seemed pale in comparison to the dresses and suits that some of the other guest were wearing, and he figured that this was how one could tell the common rabble apart from the rich and famous. He made his way over to the refreshment table and poured himself a glass of the highest grade alcohol he had ever tasted, and though he was overwhelmed by the taste and the burn as it slid down his throat, he shook it off and drunk down another glass as fast as he could.

The cheery swing of the jazz music carried the dancers through frantic melodies of electric rhythm, and the cabaret singer with the crystal clear voice, as radiant and aristocratic as can be, sung energetically and beautifully through the microphone perched on its stand. The stage was alive with the wonderful sound, and Jaune felt compelled to dance at that moment. He held himself back, if only to observe the flowing motion of those already indulging themselves in the frivolous affair. And that's when he saw it, a flash of white in the sea of color, the only bit of white he had seen that evening except the white on the walls.

Her dress was breathtaking, its design seemed to give a sense of elegance that outshone everyone that stepped close to her. The grace she demonstrated as she swept across the room was magnificent in its own right, but she transcended beyond all possible realms of existence by the beauty that seemed to glow around her entire being. She was, to put it simply, stunning. Her mask, made of the highest quality materials. Her dress, made of the richest silk and cotton. He could feel the color of scarlet taking residence across his cheeks as she floated toward him, and he thanked the heavens that he was wearing a mask. A cocktail glass held daintily in her small, pale hands, she took a tiny sip while keeping up an air of refinement that he was certain he lacked.

A small greeting, an equally small greeting back to him that he knew to be automatic. Her lips were tight together; her posture spoke of upper-class sensibility and intelligence, something that Jaune admired greatly. A bit of silence, than a whisper. A hardly audible "how do you do," and a bow. He turned in slight surprise and bowed in return.

"How do you do?" She seemed pleased to have made the acquaintance of someone who at least knew manners.

"I do hope you're enjoying the party, my father put a lot of money into it to make sure that it was to every guest's liking." So the ethereal embodiment of Venus before him was an heiress? It didn't surprise him, and without batting an eye he replied positively. "I am pleased to hear that, and my father shall be too, no doubt." It suddenly seemed that she realized she shouldn't be talking about this at a masquerade party, but relaxed at his next words.

"To my knowledge your father has two daughters, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" She giggled and stood up, offering her hand. He gingerly took it as if it were the most precious treasure in the world, and led her out onto the ballroom floor.

"Perhaps if the night goes well you shall know at the unmasking." Her words caused a shiver down his spine, and he led her in a dance. Their eyes practically glued to each other as she tested him on his abilities. Step by step they danced the evening away into night, and as they slowed, so too did the music. Swing became slow jazz, and their hearts, though beating wildly seemed to sing with it. The singer, replaced by another that suited the style better. He held her at a respectable distance, and paid extra attention to where his feet were at all times to avoid any missteps. "I must say that you are an excellent dancer. Were you taught by your mother?"

"Close, but I was taught by my sisters. They felt it absurd that a man should go without knowing how to dance."

"And rightly so, your sisters are smart." He knew that he was impressing her so far, and could not help but to let it go to his head by a small amount. He was currently dancing with an heiress at her father's party, and though he did not know which of his daughters it was, he had a pretty good guess. "I must admit, that I would not still be dancing with you if you didn't know how, indeed I would have hurried off. It is against my image to be seen with someone who cannot uphold a certain set of requirements. And so far you have passed a lot of checks on the list. And while I admit that it is not a very long list, it certainly is very hard to find a gentleman who passes even half of it."

"You figure that some of these people have somehow figured out who you are?" If he was in the wrong to ask this, she didn't show any offense.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. The papers' have been following me and my sister everywhere for weeks, ever since they heard about this party. Pitiful little germs trying to find out as much information as possible about what we will be wearing. Sadly, I fear that the local news has found out what mask I have chosen to conceal my identity."

"I see, I don't much care for those who spend their lives annoying celebrities."

"I am hardly a celebrity, just someone born into the world of gold and silver. To be honest with you, I don't think I would have chosen this life if I had had a choice." Their conversation was interrupted by a mad shout of "unmask, unmask!" Jaune's heart skipped a beat, and so did hers. Reality slowed as he reached for his mask, and pulled it away with his eyes closed. A gasp as he opened his eyes to see her beautiful eyes staring at his. The scar on her left eye gave credence to his theory, and he knew with whom he had been dancing. "Hello, I am Weiss Schnee, pleasure to meet you." A small bow, and smile.

"Jaune Arc, and the pleasure is all mine." With a kiss of her hand and a deep bow, he returned the smile blithely.


	41. The Heiress And The Bull

The tall man before Weiss was someone she had never expected to love. A faunus, a member of the White Fang, and an all around insufferable person. To some people at least. Adam Taurus. He had a personal vendetta against anyone he disliked, and who disliked him. Perhaps they were the same in some ways, but in others they were far from it. Height for instance. Yes, he towered over her, made her feel small, insignificant. As the second shortest member of team RWBY, she may have been used to being somewhat small in stature, but he made her feel uncomfortable.

Purely for the fact that he always had to look down to talk to her. "It's not fair," she complained, he laughed smugly and ruffled her hair, earning a bemused moan.

"What isn't fair, Princess?" She hated that nickname. She hated with her entire soul. She wanted to wipe that stupid grin off of his face. So she did, with a kiss. He jumped back in surprise as she grabbed him by his trench coat, pulling him down and planting a big one right on his lips. He didn't like it when she showed him just who was the dominant one in the relationship, it made him feel weak, like prey. And he was sick of feeling like prey.

Maybe she knew this, maybe she didn't. Either way, both of them knew that it wasn't going to stop any time soon. IN fact, it was just beginning, and there was no way she was going to let him stop her from doing it either. If she wanted a kiss, she was going to get one unless he explicitly stated that he didn't want to kiss her. This was how it was going to be, and he had to deal with it. "You know, Princess-" another kiss, "Will you please stop doing that? I was just going to say that this is quite possibly the weirdest relationship I've ever been in."

And if she thought about it, it really was. So. Weird. "Yeah, well that's life for you. It's weird, and full of unexpected things. Like when we first met. That was awkward to say the least."

"Yeah, you sure gave that bellhop a heart attack. So much ice!" She laughed, he laughed, just like back then. A silent confrontation in the middle of a hotel lobby, a split second in which they recognized each other, and a split second where everything was frozen. Including the bellhop's trousers to the ceiling after Adam launched him sky high to get at her. A giggle. A tiny, adorable giggle. Then laughter, joyous, raucous laughter. They were laughing, of course, at the bellhop, who was dangling from the ceiling with a look of pure perplexity on his face. In a matter of milliseconds, his day had turned from being an ordinary working day, to a pulse pounding action movie scene.

And it was absolutely hilarious.

"And then you said my giggling was cute, and you couldn't help but ask me out," Weiss said.

"Sometimes I wonder why I did. But then, I'd probably regret it if I didn't." He leaned in and kissed  _her_  for once. With a surprised cry, she leaned into the kiss and felt absolute bliss. Yes, it may have been a weird relationship, but it was a good one. They were doing fine. Just fine.

 


	42. This Kitten Has Claws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1960's Mob AU

The sweat dripped down his face, the tight space was like a blazing inferno, and baby, he was in hell. Deep shit. High waters. He was stranded in the middle of the fucking ocean with no life preserver. He was screwed, swung too damn early and the other team scored because the pitcher threw a screwball and he thought it was a fastball. He cursed his dumb decision to return to the casino expecting different results. Unfortunately the mafia kept a picture of your face all prim and proper like on their fridge, and they remembered your name. The name you put down in the guest book for the establishment that they paid for with blood money. And of course they don't fuck around, so as soon as you enter after they already told you to beat it, they bag you up and throw you in the shaking trunk of their 1950's model Ford after they break some fingers and rough you up.

Jaune was a hopeless fool, a man who was up to his knees in debt and had a gambling problem to boot. Class A standard asshole filled to the brim with male entitlement and destructive tendencies of alcoholism and nicotine intake, and by God he had really done it this time. He knew that his life was over from the moment he felt the bat connect with the back of his head.  _Home fucking run!_ The crowd goes wild, and those little boys sitting on their father's lap listening on the radio at home cheered too, because another pile of dog shit was being taken to the dump. The fuzzy face of the she-devil herself, Cinder Fall, renowned leader of the local Mob, filtered through several shades of blood-red and bruise-purple coloring. He was one second away from being capped when she stepped in and stopped them from finishing the job. He could see the smug face of that bitch already, laughing away with that cigar smoking fucker she keeps around to do her dirty work.

He knew the stories. Them taking people out to the middle of the desert and just leaving them there, bloodied, broken, confused, naked, and if you make it back in town, big whoop, you won't come back. At most you'll change your name and move to Australia, or some other country that'll take your desperate despicable ass. But you definitely won't come back, and you won't stay in town. That was for damn sure. He felt the car stop, and the trunk opened, sending sunlight through the burlap sack. He squinted and felt the heat more than ever. Holy shit was he thirsty. He was full of alcohol and nothing else, nearly to the point of dehydration. He felt like a slug covered in salt. They pulled him out and stood him up, pointing what felt like a gun at his back, prompting him to walk. He followed the order wordlessly, feeling that any sort of smart ass remark could give him a permanent vacation six feet underground.

As soon as he felt the blast of cool air hit him, he made a startled noise of confusion. The sack was removed and he was anywhere but the desert. The expensive looking chandelier in the main foyer was shimmering splendidly and the armed guards were a shocking contrast to the elegant designs on the walls. As if an artist hand painted them very meticulously, trying their hardest to get it perfect. "Welcome, mister Arc. I've been expecting you." He looked upon her beautiful form and shuddered. Cinder may have been cruel, heartless, and absolutely twisted by nature, but none could refute her beauty. "Now, Roman here says you've been causing trouble in my casino?" Roman grinned, and Jaune felt a strong urge to punch him on the chin, maybe break a few of his teeth and slam him to the ground in the process.

He had never before felt so much hate for someone's mere existence than in that moment. That smug look of someone who think's he's better than everyone else, the look of someone who's taking orders, but loves giving them. "Indeed he has, Boss. Little prick's been a thorn in my side for a long time now." Coming from the guy who actually has a little prick. "He just never learns, this is the fifth time he's decided to cheat and take away our precious money."

"I see. And as always you need me to help sort out your problems, right?" Roman stumbled slightly and adopted a fearful look. Cinder sighed and walked forward. "Alright, let's get a look at you." She circled around Jaune like a vulture eyeing its prey, a look of contemplation upon her stunning features. She hummed in what appeared to be a satisfied way, much to Jaune's pleasure. "Not half bad. Tall, handsome, and a natural blond to boot." How she knew that last part was beyond him. "I think I might quite like to talk to this one alone, boys." Without even wondering why, they left, Roman as well with a disappointed sigh and a flip of his middle finger in Jaune's direction.

He was too afraid to speak, and her endless pacing around him did little to ease his fears. He felt her eyes judging every single little movement. Every tiny twitch, every imperfection of his skin. And finally, with a small laugh she drew closer. Running a hand down his chest, she purred "yes, you're perfect. I think I'll make you mine." He shivered. "Of course, only if you want me to. And only if you realize that I may get bored of you. If you say no, you're free to go so long as you leave the country and never visit my casino again. Should you agree to this, you'll find that I am a very  _generous_  lover." This kitten has claws, in the form of guns, hired killers, and money. And quite frankly, she scared him to death. His expression was that of a mouse caught in a mousetrap, and he felt small and claustrophobic. Somehow, amidst all of the horrible nervousness, and the gut wrenching feeling that survival was hopeless, he choked out a few very small words.

"I would like that." He blushed at his own choice of words, and she smiled wickedly.

"Oh, baby, you'll absolutely  _adore_ it." Like the fly caught in the spider's web, he was now stuck in her trap, and there was no escaping.


	43. Halo

_There's a pain,  
_ _A famine in your heart,  
_ _An aching to be free,_

_Can't you see,  
_ _All love's luxuries,  
_ _Are here for you and me,_

_\- Halo, by Depche Mode_

* * *

Weiss was tired of it all, the air in her lungs didn't feel right anymore. It didn't feel natural, and instead felt held back. No longer did breathing the fresh air of Beacon's gardens bring her pleasure. She had only recently gotten the news, but it had quickly consumed her like a plague.  _One beat._ She had read it over again and again, making sure that she hadn't misread it by mistake, but the words were always the same.  _Two beats._ " _...How did he die?"_ Not that she really cared, right? He never cared, after all. Why should she?  _Three beats. "...So the company is mine now?"_ Sudden responsibility was a bitch.  _Four beats. "...First order of business? Pay docks for the Faunus employees? No, forget that, increase their pay. Give them as much as you give the other employees."_ She had done right, so why did she still feel so bad about it all? This guilt was unnecessary. She was going to turn this whole company around, and she was only twenty years old. She had nothing to feel guilty about anymore, for the first time in a long time she had a clear conscience.

_Five beats._ Was she ready for this? She had another year at Beacon, could she really run something as big as SDC on the side? Or would her studies become the side gig? She didn't like the thought of that. She knew she shouldn't blame him for dying, but somewhere deep down she blamed him for it all. For every single little bad things that went wrong in her life. Is that why she was feeling so stressed? Because she never made things right with him? No, she was sure that was wrong. She hated him, he was nothing but a racist, sexist pig. She had made things right, she was unlearning her problematic behavior, but he… She never forgot the look he gave Winter, that disgusting look. " _...She's your own daughter! You're filth!" Six beats._

"You okay, Snow Angel?"  _Ei-eight beats._ She turned around, and Jaune stepped up to her and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"No, I'm not okay!"  _Nine beats._  "Everything that's happened recently is just too much… I don't feel as if I'm ready for any of this, I'm still just a kid. Well, a twenty year old kid anyway."

"Aren't we all? Look, Weiss, it's okay to not be ready for this, but you've got us to help should you ever need it." His words did nothing to calm the storm in her mind, she sobbed openly, wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her jacket.

"None of you know the tiniest bit about how to run a corporation as big as this, or any for that matter! You couldn't help if I was being tied up and forced to do this against my will! Which is basically what's happening in the first place!"

"Yeah, I guess that's true, but we can help in other ways. We don't just have to help you run it, you know. When the stress get's to be too much you ca-"

"The stress is already too much, Jaune! It's getting to me in the weirdest ways, this morning I was so irritable, I think I made Ruby cry! Or at least, I think that's why Yang keeps giving me the evil eye…"

"Alright, so then, it's time for me to show you how to de-stress." She barely had time to register what was coming out of his mouth when he grabbed her arm and hauled her up onto his back

"Wait, where are we going?"

"To your dorm." She groaned helplessly as he doubled his speed. She smiled, secretly enjoying the ride. As they entered the dorm, there was two things she noticed. One, her teammates were nowhere in sight. And two, there were candles on the desk near her and Ruby's bunk. She was plopped down onto her bed with a soft cry of amusement as her face collided with the pillows. She felt him take a seat next to her and she raised up to meet his eyes, trying not to smile.

"We're here. What now?"

"Well, I'm going to ask you to take off your jacket and your shirt." She blushed but followed his request wordlessly, laying on her stomach and giggling as his hands met her back. "Well you caught on quick."

"Oh please, if you weren't going to give me a massage, I was going to make you." She stuck her tongue out and sighed in relief as her back popped. "God I needed this." Jaune couldn't help but feel a bit smug as she writhed underneath his fingertips. It was what he always wanted. He was taking her mind off of all of her troubles, away from the stress that he always knew she carried with her. As far as he was concerned, he was the luckiest person on earth to even have the chance to do this, and it was his job on the daily. To make her laugh, to calm her down when she's upset, to make her happy.

Little by little, she grew more and more tired. Each passing second carried from the world and her worries. She exhaled loudly and moaned "what was I so worried about? I got this, I'm going to be fine…" She was asleep seconds later, Jaune covered her up and wiped some hair out of her face before silently creeping out of the dorms to let her rest in peace.

  


 


	44. A Criminal And A Hunter Meet In A Bar

Cinder tapped her finger ruefully on the edge of her martini glass, taking a small sip every now and then and nodding her head to show she was listening. She wasn't. She could care less about this guy's life, but the ruse was needed, she had to keep up an air of civility around these people. He chatted her ear off for hours until finally he left, saying that he needed to be somewhere more important. She thanked the universe for being kind as a blond guy replaced him. She hid her face and scoffed as he ordered a water, and she silently wondered why he was even at a bar in the first place if he wasn't going to buy alcohol.

Despite herself, she turned on her chair and gave him a quick glance up and down. He was kind of handsome in a strange way, and the stubble on his face gave him a look of an intellectual, though she doubted that he was. The only thing missing was the wide rimmed glasses. She opened her mouth to speak and he held up a finger, she felt an anger swirl inside of her but his voice quickly snuffed it out. "I have no interest in answering questions about my scars, thank you very much. So if that's what you're going to say, then you can just forget it." Scars? Another glance revealed a few across his face and some across his arms. He's clearly seen some battles. Was he a hunter, then? "I got them fighting Grimm, and that's all you need to know. I'm not going to tell stories too painful to remember."

I wasn't going to ask." He turned his attention to her. "I was going to ask what you're doing in a bar if you're ordering water." He laughed and pointed to a woman with equally blond hair.

"She's always dragging me to bars, no one in our group of friends likes going with her, besides me. I always meet some interesting people at these places. We travel a lot, do jobs for the people around the towns we visit. Help them in any way we can. Guess you can say we're freelance hunters." Cinder had never heard anything so strange before. Hunters took on jobs, yes. But there were laws and rules they had to follow. Didn't being freelance mean they were just mercenaries? "I know that look, and no. We don't ask for payment, we just do it. So long as it falls in our moral restrictions, that is. Stuff like finding missing kids who decided it would be a good idea to take a walk in the forest, or hunting down Grimm who've been plaguing the area. Mostly jobs that other hunters don't even think about taking on, they think it's too small time. Tch, egocentric assholes is what they are. Protecting the people? More like protecting their pockets." She liked this guy.

"Well, we certainly agree on something." She downed her martini and called for another. "How do you live if you guys don't get paid?"

"I said we don't ask for payment, I didn't say we didn't get paid. It's usually some grateful mother, happy to have her kid back in her arms that gives us more than she even has. Sometimes it's thousands for the simplest thing, and they never take no for an answer. So we just stopped saying it."

"I see." She had every intention of just leaving right then and there, but he stopped her with an odd question.

"You don't look like a local, are you a traveler, or are you just here by some strange coincidence or other?"

"Let's just say I had some business to attend to, so I came by to check up on said business."

"That business isn't strictly legal, is it?"

"What the-? You better watch your mouth. That tongue of yours could get you in trouble." He smiled a shit eating grin.

"I thought so. Don't worry, we don't really get mixed up in that sort of business. We learned our lesson years ago. Back when my best friend still had her right eye."

"Oh? And how did that little incident happen?"

"Some asshole with a cane and a bowler hat." It took every ounce of willpower in Cinder's body to not spit her drink all over the bar top. "He decided to shoot it out during one such encounter, and she never messed with them again. Well, she didn't after she got revenge. Poor bastard got blasted into space by her sister." So that's where Roman went? She was always wondering where that asshole got to.

"Into space?"

"That's what she said happened. But she might have just been hiding the truth, I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of that woman. She would kill someone in the worst way for even touching a hair on her sister's head." Cinder started having a feeling that she knew exactly who these people were, and she suddenly felt the need to leave. She drank her last martian down in one gulp, and made an excuse.

"I just realized something important related to my… Business, and I need to hurry. Maybe we'll meet each other again, Mr…"

"Jaune Arc."

"Cinder Fall." She smirked as sudden realization dawned on his face.

"I see, and yes, I think we definitely will meet again." She left as fast as she could, as she strode through the exit she pulled her scroll out and sent a call out.

"Emerald, I have a new job for you. No, no, it's nothing like last time, I just need you to make a delivery for me…"

* * *

Jaune slammed down onto the bed as soon as he got back to the motel room he and Ren were sharing. "You've got a letter, Jaune. Just came a few minutes before you got here. Ren threw the envelope at him, and he fumbled with it for a few seconds. He opened it up and whistled in amazement. Ren came up behind him and looked over his shoulder. "A scroll number?"

"She is good." Maybe they actually will meet again.

 


	45. Chapter 45

The snow was wet and cold, her hands trembled, and her body shook as she felt her tears turn to frost. She had only wanted to be alone, but now that she was, she wasn't sure that it was such a brilliant idea after all. Yang had only wanted to help, and she snapped at her for absolutely no reason. She exhaled, and her teeth chattered as she watched her breath fade away before her eyes. "Good one, Ruby!" She felt incredibly stupid, and like an asshole. Teenage drama was something she wanted so desperately to avoid, but it seemed to follow her around like a disobedient dog. She remembered the ice in Weiss' stare, the terrible realization that she had yelled at one of her best friends for something so stupid. And only seconds after she had yelled at Yang for trying to calm her down. "Why do you have to be such an asshole! Ugh!" Her cry echoed around campus.

"I don't think you're THAT much of an asshole, but you do have some anger issues nowadays." She jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned around so quickly that her eyes were stung by the wind. "Er, sorry, I guess I took you by surprise." Jaune walked forward and slipped her red hoodie over her head.

"What are you doing out here?"

"The dorms don't really have thick walls you know. And uh, Yang kind of figured I was the only one you wouldn't yell at." She pushed her arms through the hoodie's sleeves, and wiped her eyes. They were just a tad too long, but Jaune thought it was cute. Her disheveled hair was covered in snowflakes, and he stepped up to her and wiped a strand of her highlighted hair out of her eyes. She seemed frozen, and if she really were, it wouldn't surprise him.

"I um, I don't really know what to say. You heard it all, didn't you? Or did Yang tell you?"

"I heard it all." She coughed and covered her mouth in shock. "Gotta say, not the way I thought you were going to confess, but I mean, hey, whatever works right?" She laughed and kicked the ground in a nervous manner, lowering her head so her hair covered her eyes. It was an old trick she used often to avoid confrontation, but she knew that there was no getting out of this one.

"Y-you mean, you knew this whole time?"

"Yeah, it's not like you were being very discreet about it. I mean the blushes, the stutters, the cute little shy hellos you give every time we see each other in the morning. It's pretty much a dead giveaway."

"Y-you idiot, if you knew then why didn't you just say something?"

"I was going to at first, but then I thought any kind of confession from you would probably be too cute to pass up, guess I was wrong on that one, huh?" Ruby took a deep breath and immediately regretted it, the cold blast of air hurt her throat. She coughed hard into her hand and put it over her mouth to breath in a bit without doing further harm. "We should probably get you inside, I don't want you getting sick." He put a hand around her and led her into the closest building, which was the training arenas. They took a seat, and Ruby stopped shivering as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Alright, so why did you think Weiss was making a move on me?" She groaned and pushed her head into his shoulder, wanting to avoid eye contact as much as possible.

"Don't even start, it was just something so stupid… I've just been getting really jealous lately, okay? Everytime someone talks to you, and you talk back I feel like they're going to take you away from me. Even though I don't really have you, and probably never will."

"Well now, I wouldn't jump to conclusions like that." She stiffened after realizing that she had said that list bit out loud, and Jaune pat her back to try and reassure her. It seemed to work as she started breathing softly once again. "Ruby, you don't need to get jealous. Though I understand perfectly. I was sixteen with a crush once too, you know."

"Really? Well what happened?"

"Eh, he was kind of a dick, and I only realized it just before I packed for Beacon. Though to be fair, I did some some mean things to his past boyfriends because I thought they were getting all up in my 'territory.' Long story short, I left and I decided to never talk to him again. Mostly to save myself from embarrassment." Ruby laughed and held onto him tighter.

"I don't think I could ever do that, you're the first person I've ever felt this way for, and it feels so intense. Every time I see you, my heart beats really fast, and my palms get all sweaty, and I'm so nervous. But I'm also happy to be with you, it's kind of weird in that way. It's like my heart can't make up its mind." Jaune moved his arm back around her and squeezed her arm lightly, pulling her in as close as he could.

"Yeah, love is odd like that, but you've gotta admit, it's a pretty cool feeling, right?"

"The coolest," she sighed dreamily. "So… What exactly happens now? I mean, you know, it's not exactly a secret now, not that it ever was."

"Now? Now we do whatever we're comfortable with. And I have to say, being in a relationship with you seems like it would be pretty comfortable."

"That was terrible. And it didn't make sense at all."

"Ruby, I've been in a relationship with you for like three seconds, and you're already busting my chops?" She jabbed him in the side.

"Sorry, but I mean that was pretty stupid, and as your girlfriend, I demand something better!" The request may have been in jest, but she was hard pressed to say he didn't deliver on it as he pressed his lips into hers.

 


	46. Meet The Family, Or Yang Becomes An Arc

Yang was ready, Jaune was not. She was so excited to finally be meeting his family that she could really hardly contain her excitement, and Jaune was reminded exactly of why he fell in love with her in the first place. The smile on her face was so wide that Jaune felt himself deflate a little inside, because he felt surely she would be somewhat disappointed. Or maybe he felt that he was going to be too embarrassed to live after today. Either one was bad of course. "Jaune, come on slowpoke! We've been on that bus for way too long, and I can't wait to meet your sisters!" He laughed away the pain and pulled his suitcase up the stone steps with a little trouble. As soon as he rang the doorbell, it seemed that the two of them were pulled inside rather forcefully. In an instant, Jaune's face was peppered with kisses from all angles, and he was in the middle of a group hug that seemed destined to break him apart. "I missed you all, too!" Yang's smile grew, and she suddenly recalled him mentioning that he wasn't exaggerating on how huge of a family he had.

The sibling affection was too much for Yang, who understood the feelings being displayed as good as anyone who had siblings could. She let out an "Aww," and she was suddenly brought into the middle of the group hug as well.

"Oh my gosh, Jaune she's just as beautiful as you said she is!" Said one of his sisters, and another piped up "there is no way MY little bro could get someone that gorgeous, he has to be lying!" Yang blushed bright red and grinned like a dope. She was sure she had never seen so much blond hair in one place at any given time. In fact, everyone in the house was blond.

"Alright, girls, let them breathe!" Called a commanding voice, and they all parted faster than Yang could blink. The source of the voice was Jaune's father, and she had to admit that he lived up to everything Jaune had ever said about him. He looked like a war hero, he had the voice of one, but he also had a sense of gentleness that she could only trace back to her own father in comparison. They looked much the same in the odd way middle aged men with a five o'clock shadow did. "I'm Fonce Arc, nice to meet you." He extended his hand and Yang accepted gratefully, she smirked as he started squeezing her hand, and she squeezed back. He bent under her strength, and he immediately retracted his arm in surprise. "Woah, that's a good grip you've got there! At least my son has someone who can protect him!" His sisters all laughed as his mother came into the now incredibly crowded room.

"Hi, I'm Clair Arc, pleasure to meet you! Jaune has told all about you and your friends! And these are Jaune's sisters, Noir, Blanche, Rouge, Verte, Violet, Marron, and Rose!" Yang had to double take upon taking their appearances in for the first time. They were all nearly identical, and the only way you could tell them apart was the subtle highlights in their hair, and their varying heights

"It's nice to finally meet you all! Jaune talks about you a lot, and I'm just sorry this trip had to wait until after graduation!" Clair scoffed and ushered them all into the dining room. Yang's mouth instantly watered as the amazing aroma of the food that Jaune's mother had prepared for everyone, and without thinking twice she sat down and started scarfing down her food.

"Oh ho! Jaune, you really got yourself one heck of a gal!" His father said, patting his back. They all sat down and joined Yang as Jaune whispered back a reply.

"Yeah, I really do." The room was lit up with laughter and tales of battles and adventures from Jaune and Yang, and everyone was enjoying themselves quite pleasantly when one of Jaune's sisters, Yang couldn't tell which one but she thought it might be Rouge, who appeared to be the youngest of all of them said something that sparked what could only be described as excitement in all of the girls. That being…

"You have really pretty hair!" The small girl with faint red highlights in her blond hair had said. All of her sisters rejoiced, and gave praise to her and asked her for beauty tips. Noir gasped.

"Why don't you let us do your hair?" She said.

"Yeah," spoke Blanche, who was the second oldest of them all, "we used to do Jaune's hair all the time, so we have a lot of experience!" Yang sent an amused look to Jaune who only shrugged in return.

"They also put me in dresses," he said, "I'm just glad they were cute dresses. This one time they did my hair up in pigtails and put me in this light pink dress that was kind of frilly on the ends. I think they have a picture somewhere… Anyway, it was pretty darn adorable."

"Aww, I remember that day, you were the cutest little girl!" Said Verte, the oldest. Jaune giggled and Yang held herself back from making the high pitched squealing noise that was dying to escape her. "So what do you say, Yang? You wanna makeover?" Much to Jaune's surprise, she agreed. She had actually missed having her hair done by Ruby, back when she couldn't tell a hair brush from a hair dryer, and she figured that this would be the same. Only they knew what they were doing and wouldn't mess it up. She was putting an ungodly amount of faith and trust in them, but that was kind of the point. The all knew just how much she hated having her hair ruined, and they didn't want any property damage, so they all silently swore to each other to do their best to make her hair shine with a radiance she could never believe to be real.

Jaune decided to stay downstairs with his parents to let Yang and his sisters have some bonding time, and bid them goodbye as they disappeared up the staircase in a hurry. Yang was basically thrown into a room with a singular swivel chair located in front of a mirror. "This," Violet, the third oldest explained, "is the makeover room! Doesn't see much use nowadays, but back then we used it so often that the smell of perfume soaked into the hardwood floor. If you sniff, you might still be able to smell a trace of something or other." Yang was sat in the chair and chuckled as Rouge, and Rose jumped up and down excitedly

"I take it this is their first makeover?" Verte nodded, and Yang ruffled Rouge's hair. "Alright you two, I'm trusting you to do the best you can!" They nodded their heads in unison very enthusiastically.

"You can count on us!"

"Yeah, let the initiation begin!" Yang cocked her head.

"Initiation?" Verte, Violet, and Blanche leaned over the chair and looked to each other and then back to Yang as if they were plotting something.

"This is how you become an Arc girl, sweetheart!" Verte explained.

"I love your ring by the way! It's pretty!" Blanche said. Violet stroked her chin in faux thought.

"You know what's funny? I don't think ma and pa noticed, but I think Jaune was wearing one that was incredibly similar to hers! Hm, you know I do think they're here for a reason, don't you, girls?" They all shouted out in agreement as Yang nervously fidgeted in her seat.

"Hehe, oops."

* * *

Jaune tapped his foot as he waited patiently for his sisters to get done with whatever they were doing to her, he listened to his father tell stories of events that he missed while he was at beacon. His mother made cookies, and he was surprised that his sisters didn't come running down the stairs with ravenous hunger to eat them all up. He thought he heard that familiar old sound for a second, but the steps seemed much more eager. Like they were excited about something more than just cookies. Yang came into sight first, standing in the doorway with a shine in her eyes, and sounding more excited than she had ever been. "Good news! My. Hair. Is. Absolutely fabulous! God, this is like masterwork! How did you girls get so skilled! Oh and uh, also some bad news. They kind of figured it out Jaune." Jaune threw his hands up in annoyance.

"Of course they did, but then I thought they would so, I guess I can't be mad." His mother and father looked at each other.

"Um, figured what out?" His mother had asked. The girls walked in behind Yang and Jaune got up and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Well there's no point in holding off." Yang's teeth could be seen from space, and Jaune had a look of pure happiness on his face as they both held up their right hands and said together: "We're getting married!" The house was filled with screams of joy, as his mother fainted, and his father began to cry tears because of how proud he was.


	47. New Bow

Her bow was a symbol of struggle; a reminder that not everyone is a saint and that there are still battles to be fought, wars to be won or lost, and people who are treated as different and enslaved for the most minute of differences. Her ears were possibly the one thing she celebrated about herself, but also the one thing she desperately tried to keep hidden. But in that moment it all seemed so pointless. It had been ripped off, and now lay shredded on the ground before Blake's feet.

One of her most important possessions now lay tattered and forgotten as she angrily charged at the Beowolf before her, striking it as fast as she could. She delivered multiple heavy blows to its skull and chest, before sending it flying with an uppercut. Not nearly finished, she jumped after it, creating a stone shadow clone using her earth dust and jumping on top of its head to gain height. She kicked down on the Beowolf's head and sent it back down with a sickening  _crack._ She landed back on it and jumped off, leaving behind a shadow made of fire. The Beowolf howled in pain before the clone exploded, leaving nothing but a charred crater. A sudden shout abruptly brought her out of her rage. "Damn, Blake! Overkill, don't you think?" Yang called out. Blake shook off her anger and moved to help her teammates finish off the rest of the Grimm. Between the four of them, it was easy enough to clear the area. In no time at all the Grimm realized they were being overwhelmed and beat a hasty retreat.

They all collapsed, exhausted and panting heavily. Ruby doggedly used Crescent Rose to snipe the ones who managed to escape, as Yang roused herself and went over to check on Blake. "Okay, what's up with you kitty cat? There's no way you needed to do that much to take down a single Beowolf."

Blake's anger returned at the memory as she replied. "The damn thing ripped my bow right off my head, it just barely missed my ears! I just got so angry. That bow meant a lot to me." She wiped the sweat off her face. "I don't know what I'm going to do now; I really don't want anyone at Beacon to know." Their conversation was interrupted as Nora jumped out of some nearby bushes.

"Don't worry, team JNPR is here and we've got an Ursa! Just kidding, Ren wouldn't let me keep it!" She glared at Ren as he much more sedately exited the bushes behind her, Jaune and Pyrrha following close behind.

"Nora, why did you think we needed an Ursa?" He asked in a tired voice that implied that he already knew the answer. Nora seemed to take personal offense to this and scoffed.

"For your information, Renny, her name was Bubbles, and she was very cute, and I was going to dress her up and train her to be in the circus!"

"Nora, I don't think the Grimm have genders." Jaune said, amused with her imagination. He glanced over at Ruby as she fired another shot, and flinched from the thunderous roar.

"Yes! Four in one, that's what I call a trick shot!" Ignoring the short reaper, he took a seat next to Blake and offered her a cool rag from his pack. Surprised, she took it with a small noise of appreciation. Or at least what he figured was appreciation.

Something felt off to Jaune about Blake's appearance and it took him a few seconds to place it. When he did, though, he couldn't restrain himself from asking, "What happened to your bow?" Yang sent him a nasty look behind Blake's back, and he tensed up as Blake sighed. She waved a hand limply towards its remains, unwilling to voice her loss. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry. I know it must have been important to you." She nodded and leaned her head back against the tree she was sitting under. Jaune had hardly ever seen her without that little black ribbon atop her head, and while he thought she looked much better without it, he knew that there were important reasons why she wore it. He looked back and forth between her and the bow several times, his face scrunched up in thought.

* * *

Blake looked down at the oddly decorative black gift box she had been handed. It was of medium size and a small gift ribbon had been neatly tied around it to keep it closed. Jaune just laughed as she raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. "I had some lien left, and I caught a glimpse of it in the window as I passed by." Blake was left speechless for a moment. She had rarely ever received gifts before, and she supposed she was supposed to feel thankful, but the abruptness of this was just… Really awkward. Seemingly confused, Jaune asked, "Aren't you going to open it?" Her heart skipped a beat in anxiety. What if she didn't like whatever it was? Was she supposed to tell the truth? Or maybe lie and say she liked it even though she despised it? She was sure that she would be sweating if it weren't such a comfortable temperature in their dorm. Jaune, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby all eyed her with expectant looks.

"Well, are you, Blake?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, come on, don't keep us waiting! We're curious too, you know!" Yang whined. Hesitantly, Blake untied the knot and opened the box. Her eyes widened as she pulled out a new black bow, nearly identical to her old one. Yang whistled, Weiss looked at Jaune in surprise, and Ruby giggled childishly, convinced that this meant Jaune liked her.

"There's a white one in there as well," he explained, "but I bought it for the black one mostly. I know it's your favorite color, and I thought you would like-" Blake cut him off with a tight hug.

"Thank you, Jaune. This really means a lot to me." She kissed him on the cheek. Ruby and Yang started making grossly exaggerated kissy faces and Weiss rolled her eyes with a faint smile as Blake let go of him.

"Heh, I'm glad you like it."


	48. A Moment Of Silence

_All I ever wanted  
_ _All I ever needed  
_ _Is here in my arms  
_ _Words are very unnecessary  
_ _They can only do harm_

\- Enjoy The Silence, by Depeche Mode

* * *

Love was a complex feeling that Pyrrha thought she would never fully understand, but would she ever need to? She wondered if there really was anyone who could understand it. But in this moment, she felt as though she understood it well enough here in the silence, as she lay side by side with Jaune. As far as she was concerned, it was absolutely perfect. A moment she wished she could stay in forever. She hoped he felt the same. Ren and Nora were out, so they had the dorm room to themselves, and they were making very good use of it in her opinion. It had been awkward at first, sure. The embarrassed stutters as he settled in beside her on the bed, the high-pitched tone of worry, the tense muscles… But he eventually saw it her way, saw how completely perfect the moment actually was. That's when he grew quiet, and let the silence speak for the both of them.

And the silence said so much; more than she could vocalize, and definitely more than he could. It said  _I love you,_  it said  _stay with me forever,_ and it said  _I will,_   _I promise._  His arms were wrapped around her, and it felt so good in ways that she couldn't even explain. She wanted to be like this all the time, wanted to be with him all the time. She knew they would have to leave this position eventually, but for now she was going to enjoy it as much as she could. She felt so comfortable that she could just nod off. Were they allowed to push their beds together? Somehow that didn't seem like it would be allowed, and of course she knew why, but it was still something she thought about. If they pushed theirs together, would Nora and Ren do the same?

She felt Nora would somehow convince Ren. Would she have to convince Jaune? No, she wouldn't have to. If the soft breathing on the back of her neck was any indication, he was just as comfortable as she was. He would agree with her idea, after a few moments of intense red-faced sputtering. Their team would benefit, they would all be closer. Ren and Nora would finally have that push that they needed, Ren would finally understand. And her and Jaune? Would there finally be a spoken truth between them? They knew very well what their hearts were telling them, and yet they hadn't said it yet. Maybe they were just afraid of it.  _But if this is what it's like, then why should we be afraid?_

"Jaune," she broke the silence, "I love you." Her only answer was a small snore. Of course he would be asleep when she decided to say it. She chuckled and rolled over, careful not to wake him. She kissed his forehead and whispered, "never mind, I'll tell you tomorrow." She shifted again, and finally allowed herself to fall into the warm embrace of sleep.


	49. Stirring The Embers

Jaune had learned to tolerate a lot of unsavory things over the last few months. They often allowed him to find and deal with things that were much worse than them. The woman taking a seat at his table without invitation was one of those unsavory things. He stared down Cinder as she took a seat across the table. When that failed to provoke any sort of reaction, he slammed down the alcohol in the shot glass that sat on the table before him. "Well, it's not very often a pretty woman decides to talk to  _me._  I'm usually the one floundering for their attention." She rolled her eyes, annoyed with the tone of his voice already.

"You know  _exactly_  why I'm here. I've heard the stories going around about you and your friends for the past five months; and I thought that if anyone was perfect for the job, it would be one of you. Just my luck that I get the drunk, stupid one."

Jaune appeared to take offense in his mildly drunken haze. "Hey, just so you know, I hardly ever drink. This is the first time I've touched anything even remotely alcoholic in a year."

Cinder caught the implied part of that statement, and decided to play along, "And the stupid part?" Jaune grinned back.

"You're completely right about the stupid part. I was dumb enough to have ended up in this stupid fucking job. If I was smart, I would have found a different fucking job. But now I have to deal with people like you." Cinder smirked wickedly, and he was shocked at how well she owned the  _beautiful, deadly_ look.

"Oh, I've got it on good authority that you like dealing with beautiful women. Especially the ones that…  _Bite."_ Jaune frowned. He had always known that Cinder was cruel, heartless devil. He didn't know that she was also a funny, cruel, heartless devil. He poured himself another shot, but before he could even reach for it, Cinder snatched it from him with a condescending smile. Jaune scowled at her and the fact that she managed to make such a thing look elegant.

"That was the one time, and your tricks aren't going to work on me. Emerald was a mistake that I won't let happen again. I still have the burn marks on my underwear to remind me of  _that_  experience."

"Oh, so  _you're_  the guy whose ass I burned for sleeping with my thief." Cinder was amused at the serendipity of the situation. "Maybe that will teach you not to go sleeping around with criminals."  _Like hell it would_ , and Jaune was thinking about vocalizing that before he thought better of it.

Jaune figured that it was time to get down to business. "Alright, enough small talk. What's the job? And more importantly, how much are you paying?" It was always about the money.

"Fifty thousand. You have 4 weeks to get it done. His name is Roman Torchwick. He's a convicted thief, a known murderer, and as the rumors say, rapist." Jaune's expression sharpened. In certain situations, however, the money didn't matter to him as much as getting monsters off the streets did.

"I know of him; and I know you worked with him for a time. That whole White Fang incident a few years ago was your combined brainchild." Jaune appeared to consider the job before asking, "I've got only one question, why exactly do you want him dead?" Based on his experience, he knew what the reason was likely to be already.

"Isn't that obvious? He owes me a lot of money, and he's yet to pay me back even a single Lien." Jaune hummed and sat up straight, putting his arms on the table and leaning forward.

"Alright, I accept." He got up and walked off without a further word. Cinder sat back in the chair and drank Jaune's abandoned shot.

* * *

Cinder had initially been impressed with Jaune's discretion, how professionally and cleanly the job was handled. There was not even the whisper of a rumor that might have tipped off Roman. But now it had been weeks since Jaune had taken the contract, and she hadn't heard a word about Roman. Something was off about the whole situation. Cinder's sources hadn't heard anything about Roman's death, and she hadn't been contacted by Jaune since she hired him. Didn't he even care about getting his money? And much more importantly to her, did he manage to get the job done in the first place? Left with no other option, she was now back in the bar on the deadline, impatiently waiting at the same table they had been sitting at when she had hired him.

She really needed to know that the job was done, to be assured that Roman was dead. Her plans couldn't move forward while the loose end known as Roman Torchwick remained in the back of her mind. Fortunately, Jaune strolled in as though he owned the place, bee-lining his way to her table. Trailing behind him appeared to be a small girl wearing a red cape. As soon as he took a seat, she glared at him while hiding the slightest hint of trepidation. She had never really been in such a vulnerable position with any other mercenaries, but she knew that he wasn't a regular mercenary. He was an assassin that stuck to a certain set of morals, despite the cliche inherent to such an idea, and she knew those morals to be far different than hers. Cinder had a hard time determining exactly what they might drive him to do. "Well, is he dead? I assume you know the consequences of returning to me if he's not..." She didn't bother keeping her voice down, as the whole bar knew why she was there already.

Cinder's eyes were drawn to a movement by the splotch of red in the darkness behind him, as she heard the familiar sound of someone cocking a gun. Caught by surprise, she tensed in anticipation, while demanding an explanation from Jaune with her eyes. "No. Seeing as how we don't really kill anyone, Roman is still alive, technically. We disposed of him, but we're not murderers. I can assure you that he will not be seen, nor heard from again, which should suit your particular needs." Cinder flared in anger, standing up and slamming her hands down on the table.

"You dare..."

A red laser line appeared in the smoky air of the bar, centered between her eyes, and Cinder felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "One wrong move, and I give my partner permission to blow your brains out all over this  _beautiful_  polished wood floor." She sank back into her seat, attempting to appear calm and cautious. "Now, how about we talk money. I suppose, seeing as how we didn't really fulfill the entire contract, you won't be willing to pay full price. And honestly, we're fine with that. Ain't we Red?" He looked back as the girl in the red hood gave a thumbs up. Cinder was starting to think she was a mute. "So, let's say half, and a little something extra."

"And that extra is?" He chuckled lightheartedly and shrugged.

"Nothing too much. Listen, you're a beautiful woman, I'm a mildly okay-looking guy, so how's about a date?" Cinder felt her right eye twitch, and a giggle from behind him suggested that his current bodyguard was familiar with his actions. Seriously? He has the nerve to leave her contract incomplete and then breeze in her and try to extort a date?!

"A date? You have GOT to be kidding me!" She looked questioningly into his eyes, trying to divine his purpose, and she found only dead-set determination. The audacity... "Ugh, didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with fire?"

"Nope, my dad did, and he told me that if that fire was hot enough, I should try harder instead." His bodyguard snorted, apparently trying not to laugh. Cinder wanted nothing more than to douse Jaune in gasoline and burn him alive. She was in no way interested in going on a date with someone like him. On the other hand, half of the original amount did sound like a good deal, and he was already proving himself to be a dork. It should be easy to rob him blind.

"Well, you'll most certainly get burned, but if you think it's worth it, I'll play your game." She spat back. He shrugged, unworried by the threat. Cinder knew that she was going to enjoy teaching this little weasel a lesson.

* * *

Cinder was panting as her fingers dug for purchase in the sheets under her naked body. As she regained her ability to speak coherently, she gasped out, "Oh! No wonder Emerald was so mad when I chased you off!"

 


	50. When The Day Met The Night

_When the moon fell in love with the sun  
_ _All was golden in the sky  
_ _All was golden when the day met the night_

_\- When The Day Met The Night, by Panic! At The Disco_

* * *

Blake looked up from her book with a curious look in her cat-like eyes as she heard a giggle. Yang sat with a pile of various flowers, most of which she couldn't identify, all of which were vibrant and colorful. Blake carefully placed the ribbon betwixt the pages and closed the book, setting it on the small white garden table beside her chair. She grabbed the glass of lemonade off the coaster and took a small sip, sighing as the cold refreshing drink made its way down her throat. It was a hot day, but Yang loved the sun and had somehow convinced her that it would be nice to get out, and though Blake would never admit it aloud, Yang was right. She hadn't felt so refreshed in a long time, and the constant smiles and cheeriness that were radiating off of Yang were making her happier in turn. "What are you doing?" she asked, amused by the sight of Yang fiddling with the flowers in her hands.

Blake couldn't really see what Yang was doing with them, but whatever it was, it apparently required her full attention. Yang noticed Blake trying to determine what she was doing, and said, "Hold on a sec, I'll show you when I'm done! You know, I used to do this for Ruby all the time, until she finally asked me to show her how to do it herself. I don't know how long it's been since she made one, but I'd bet that she's made at least one for Weiss. It's just the kind of sappy, romantic gesture she would make." Yang finally finished and stood up, turning to face Blake while hiding whatever it was she was making behind her back. "If you can call it romantic. I mean, I suppose it could be taken in many different ways. This one, though? You should definitely take as romantic.

That was all well and good, but it didn't actually answer Blake's question. "Okay, but what is it?" Yang laughed and all but skipped over to her, placing something atop of her head. It fit around her ears as they twitched, and a wonderful scent wound its way through her sensitive nostrils. Yang pulled out small mirror from her pack and handed it to Blake, who flipped it open and eagerly looked at her reflection. She was wearing a flower crown composed of blue, yellow, and white flowers.

"You look beautiful today, Blakey! Did you do something with your hair?~" Yang leaned down and placed a small kiss on her nose, and Blake returned the favor with a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Blake!"

"I love you too, Yang."

 


	51. Titanic AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like title says, Titanic AU.

Jaune stared deep into Weiss' eyes as he placed her into the lifeboat, the screaming panic of everyone around them setting their hearts ablaze with fear. They didn't want to believe this was happening, how could they? It was supposed to be unsinkable. Keyword: supposed. Jaune was angry with them, but he was a lot more remorseful. He was still somewhat in shock, but the thing foremost in his mind was the fact that he couldn't board the lifeboat with Weiss. "Women and children first," shouted the crew, and who were the men to argue? Surely the lives of their gals, and the lives of their children, were more important than their own?

As he set her down, she was jumbled in the mass of people all trying to find room on the wooden seats. Weiss was frantic with worry. The situation was bad enough to drive even her, normally so strong and driven, into near hysterics. "Jaune, they don't have enough lifeboats! You have to get on this one! Force yourself on if you have to!" Jaune smiled wanly at her. He knew that there wasn't any way in hell that he was making it off of the ship, but she would, and that's all that mattered to him. She had said that his foolish stubbornness would get him killed one day, and in this moment, he loathed that she was right. Despite knowing him for only a few days, she could apparently predict his future with almost absolute certainty. There were so many more passengers to help evacuate, and the crew couldn't manage it all by themselves.

"I'm sorry, Weiss, my love, I have to help them! I have to-"

"Don't you even dare think about it, you fool of a man! Just get on, come with me! What about the family you said you wanted to start?!" He could see the tears in her eyes, and hear the pain in her voice. "Just for once, don't be an idiot, and hurry on!" Weiss had always been so careful about the way she spoke, trying to be true to her upper class background, and this is the first time Jaune had ever heard her speak in a manner that wasn't so. Even below decks with the third-class passengers, she had always been so dignified, and never at all panicked or frustrated.

All he could do was shrug, and swallow hard as she silently stood there, waiting for him, her eyes pleading. She believed that he would always be by her side, that he would follow her anywhere, endure anything for her. And, as always, she was right, he supposed. If he didn't help, it was likely that more people would die, but here in this moment, he couldn't just leave her alone. She was far too precious to him to let that happen. Jaune had seen the loneliness in her, how it consumed her from the inside out, and how it had finally eased around him. Where once she had seemed been as frigid as the waters below, she had finally started to open her heart and find enjoyment in her life. If he died here, he would be taking all that away. While Jaune wouldn't mind dying to save other people, he couldn't bring himself to harm Weiss, the woman who had filled his world with brilliance, like that. Even if he was reviled, even if it tore him apart inside his own mind, if it was for Weiss, it would be worth it. With a hopeless groan, he forced his way past the ship's crew, and a few screaming ladies, and barely managing to tumble into the boat before it began its descent towards the waters below. Weiss latched onto him with all the strength in her little body, and kissed him desperately as the boat rocked to and fro against the waves. A couple of the other women on the boat glared at him as they paddled away. He sighed and didn't dare look back, as Weiss laid her head against his shoulder, tears of relief marring her face. The distant screams faded from earshot as they put more and more distance between themselves and the sinking titan. Jaune knew his choice would likely haunt him, and so, as the price for peace with the woman he loved, he swore that he would do everything he could to help those who survived, and those who had lost family in the tragedy.

He may never be forgiven, by himself or others, but to save Weiss, both her life and her mind, it was a price he was willing to pay.


	52. Gorehound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Slight mentions of fictional gore, and vomiting.

_Cause I'm a gorehound, hellbound, horror movie lover,  
_ _I like my voyeurism with a glass of red rum,  
_ _Cause I'm a gorehound, hellbound horror movie lover,  
_ _Good and evil are just colors on the spectrum,_

_\- Gorehound, by Harley Poe_

* * *

 

Jaune winced as yet another gory murder was committed right before his eyes, a hatchet stuck right between the eyes of the masked killers latest victim while Weiss watched on with rapt attention. The popcorn in her bowl disappearing at an alarming rate as she munched away with an enthusiasm Jaune had never seen before, despite the horrid image on the screen. The dark room was drenched in red as blood spattered against the camera, and the silence gave way to an over-acted shriek of terror that nevertheless managed to chill him to the bone. How Weiss was able to watch these movies with such ease was a mystery to Jaune; as he, even after so many nights filled with the visions of madmen on film, still couldn't stand to hear the sound of knives plunging into someone's flesh. It made him sick, but it seemed to fuel Weiss.

 _Splat, drip, drip._  He gulped, she smiled. He clutched at the empty trash can beside him, and pulled it a little closer. Weiss set her empty bowl aside, and after wiping her hand on a napkin, sat it limply at her side. Jaune stared at it, feeling it much more pleasant to focus on, rather than what was currently happening on the TV. He grabbed her small hand tightly, and she gave a small gasp and looked over at him, surprised that he would make such a daring move. He remained staring firmly at the screen, seemingly absorbed in what was happening. He gave her hand a small squeeze as the sound of agony reigned ever present in the background.

She smiled and leaned into him, and, with a gentle smile, continued to watch the movie. Jaune didn't really understand why she could see the moment as romantic, or even take the act of him grabbing her hand as anything than what it was: Pure, unadulterated fear. But then, Weiss was strange, had turned out to be much different than his initial impression of her. Despite that, however, he had found these unexpected facets of her to be even more enticing, and uncovering them to be a joyous exercise. Except, perhaps, for this one.  _Rip!_ That gory sight was the final straw, and, with a yelp, Jaune dashed into the bathroom at record speeds, entirely forgetting about the prepared trash can. Weiss immediately paused the movie with an amused giggle. "Jaune, are you okay?" She got up and walked to the bathroom to check on him. She found him worshiping the porcelain god, still retching as he tried to regain control of himself. It took Jaune a few seconds to collect himself, and when he did, he rose shakily from his knees and looked at her with no emotion on his face. Weiss couldn't help but start cracking up at his attempt at a stoic facade.

Jaune ignored her laughter as he said, "You are a sick, twisted individual with a disturbing interest… And I love you so much despite that. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash my mouth out with a gallon of bleach. Or soda. One of those things. Maybe both." Weiss smirked as he trudged out of the bathroom. She returned to her movie in high spirits, amused by the fact that even after all this time, her boyfriend still couldn't handle some of the most tame movies she had in her collection. She pressed play on her remote, already looking forward to the next gory death. "Ha, what a scrub." Her eyes widened as her brain caught up with her mouth. "I should really stop letting Yang influence my vocabulary."

 


	53. Ebon Knight

Raven gazed upon the black feathers of the fledgling Nevermores with a fleeting feeling of envy while standing on the branch of the tree, before dropping down to the soft grass below. "They're beautiful aren't they?" she asked her companion in what was nearly a whisper. The stillness of the forest was only broken by the distant sound of wings flapping in the breeze.

"Well, I guess they are kind of cute, when they're not trying to kill me, but more often than not, they are, so I never really had the time to stop and admire them." She shook her head, amused at the conflicted tone of Jaune's voice. "So why exactly did you bring me out here, Rave?" The little nickname he used to refer to her made her heart flutter as it always did, and with a soft sigh of contentment she sat down on the ground, leaning back against the trunk of the tree she was in only seconds before. Taking the silence as a hint that she wanted him to sit, Jaune took the spot beside her and he grew more and more curious with each passing moment as to what was going through her head. The look on her face was rapturous, a state that he would very much like to experience for himself. She appeared to be at absolute peace.

"Jaune, do you know the meaning of serenity?"

"Doesn't it just mean peacefulness?" Her laugh, like a harp in its gentleness, reverberated through his chest like a melody of love. "I'm guessing I'm wrong?"

"No, no, you're quite right. I suppose I expected that answer; but yet, I expected another as well. What I meant was, do you understand it as I do?" He cocked his head, racking his brain to understand. "Do you feel it? Here? Right now? With me?" Understanding hit him, he smiled and grabbed one of her hands with both of his, holding it oh so gently as if it were the only thing that mattered before drawing it up and kissing it tenderly. Raven blushed prettily as he looked deep into her eyes and responded.

"I've never understood it more." That one sentence sincerely conveyed all of his feelings. Satisfied, he released her hand, settling into a more comfortable hold with one only one of his as he relaxed next to her.

"I'm glad." She rested her head back, trying to banish her blush. After a moment, she continued. "One other thing… These times that we've spent together have taught me some important things. One of the most important being that I need not be so secretive anymore, that I really can trust some people, and I thank you for that. Another being the feeling that I thought I had forgotten long ago, when my heart had shattered. I'm delighted that it's you, Jaune, that has made me feel this way again." He gave an elated grin and pulled her close, happy to let the next few moments play out in gratified silence. Raven, though, wasn't quite done. "I never thought I would be able to say this again, and I can't fully express my elation at being able to. I love you with all my heart, Jaune."

"I love you too, Raven. I love you more than I can possibly say. But uh, let's be sure to be somewhat quiet about this, who knows what Yang would say."

"Or do."

"That too."


	54. Stealing Time

"I'll be taking my wallet back, thank you very much." Jaune swiped it out of Emerald's hand and she blew a raspberry back at him. He stuck out his own tongue and was rewarded with her small laugh of amusement.

"Sorry, but I can't help myself sometimes! You know that I've got sticky fingers!" She held them up and waggled them, her face surprising serious, despite her playful tone. "You should really keep a better eye on your stuff, love; who knows what else I can steal off you? Maybe something important, like your scroll." Jaune scoffed at such a ridiculous claim, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

"That's ridiculous, no one is going to take my scroll. I know where it is at all times. Losing it is basically impossible." He reached for his scroll, stopping with wide eyes as he felt his empty pocket, realizing that it was already gone. With the culprit obviously before him, Jaune sent the thief a blank look, and Emerald envied his patience in not demanding it back immediately. She decided to play it out a little, and pulled out his scroll, opening it to check for messages. One stood out to her immediately

"Oh, what is this? A message from Pyrrha? I wonder what she wants from her fearless leader?" Jaune sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as she gleefully tapped on the message. Emerald attempted her best imitation of Pyrrha as she read, "'Jaune, training starts early tonight. I feel that you have improved substantially, and so I think we should start moving on to more difficult techniques.' Oh, and here's another from Yang!" He lunged at her, but she dodged with practiced ease. "And there are some from Mercury too! Oh man, I wonder what these are going to be about! Let's see, video games, movies, even more video games, movies about video games, movies about movies about video games… Oh my god, you guys are totally nerd brothers!" Jaune grumbled and finally managed to get the scroll away from Emerald. For her part, she let it go easily, skipping several steps back and grinning cheekily at him.

Jaune felt the need to defend his friend, and said, "Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy." In response, Emerald pretended to stick a finger down her throat and faked gagging.

"Merc? Cool? He wishes. I will admit, he's not  _that_  bad, but he's not as cool as you are." Jaune was somewhat taken aback at the sincerity of that statement, and he blushed at it. Jaune decided the only proper response was to kiss her on the cheek. She faked another gag, but was smiling the whole time.


	55. Misinterpretation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. Trigger Warning: Sexual allusions, situations, and mentions. I don't want any of you sex repulsed people getting triggered! ;_; You're all beautiful, and I would hate for anyone to feel bad because of something I wrote!

_How'd you get so big?  
How'd you get so strong?  
_ _How'd it get so hard?  
_ _How'd it get so long?_

_\- Ruiner, by Nine Inch Nails_

* * *

Yang had been cleaning the hallway for little over an hour now, and despite her best attempts to make the task less mind-numbingly boring, it had ended up dragging on and on and on. She leaned the broom up against the wall next to her own dorm room's door, sliding down the wall with an exhausted sigh. "Oh man, this has to be the most boring thing I have ever done." She wondered why Goodwitch had gotten so worked up at her this time. Yang hadn't even blown up the classroom like she usually did! But Goodwitch had exploded at her, and it was so bad that Blake had to carry her around for days. She wished that was only an exaggeration. Apparently Goodwitch had thought that having Yang take over the janitor's duties was a good punishment, and she had been right. At least Yang was almost done. She only needed to finish the rest of the dorms, and she would be able to enjoy sweet freedom once again. Despite being so close to finishing, a short break seemed like a fantastic idea at the moment.

"Oh, Jaune, I don't think it will fit! It's so big!" Yang's eyes shot open, before she narrowed them in suspicion. That was Ruby's voice. What was going on? She focused on listening in on the voices coming from her dorm room.

"Ruby, it'll be alright, I promise! It's wet enough already, that's why we've been preparing for the past fifteen minutes. It should just slide right in!" She heard what sounded like a struggle, and a few panting gasps of exertion. The blonde stood up, entirely on edge now, leaning her ear as quietly as possible against the door to eavesdrop. "Wow, it's even wetter than I thought!" She grimaced in disgust at Jaune's words, preparing to burst in and stop whatever they were doing.

"Jaune, this is embarrassing! It's still not going in! Shove harder!" Yang paused, placing a finger on her temple in thought. This situation sounded kind of familiar, and whatever she thought was going in behind that door might be completely wrong. It would be embarrassing to jump in on an assumption and make herself look like an idiot. "Ugh, this feels weird. Do you even know what you're doing?" Ruby whined from beyond the door.

Yang found herself unwilling to open the door. The two of them could be doing something important, like putting together a shelf, or something along those lines. Putting together furniture was hard enough without interference. "I've just gotta pound harder, right?"  _Bang! Bang! Bang!_ Yang winced at the sound, blushing brightly. Jaune had better be careful with that hammer! He'd regret it if he hurt her sister!

"Ah, how should I know? This didn't exactly come with instructions!" Poor sis, having to put something together with most inept person she knew.  _Bang! Bang! Bang!_  "Okay, okay, slow down! That's not really working. Try, doing it slower, maybe?"  _Bang… Bang… Bang…_  "A l-little bit faster than that, though."  _Bang, bang, bang._  "M-much better!~" Yang covered her face, now as red as an apple, and trying her hardest to imagine a hammer nailing deep down into something wooden.

"Ruby, it's so soft…" Was there velvet involved? Either way, that was a weird exclamation on Jaune's part. After that there were a few laughs, a muffled giggle, a couple of gasps… Yang was starting to think that maybe they weren't actually building anything at all!

"Ruby, I'm nearly there!" Yang heard Ruby echo the same, and she felt that congratulations were in order. After all, she had never heard of anyone managing to erect anything so quickly! It sounded like they had been really focused, and put their all into it. Intent on seeing for herself, Yang grabbed the doorknob and twisted, pushing open the door. She was immediately assaulted by vigorous shouts of ecstasy. Her expression was frozen in her original smile as she carefully closed the door, once again cutting off her view. "Ew, it's so sticky!" Ruby must have gotten some glue on her.

"Haha, yep, just building things!" She grabbed her broom and got back to work, attempting to ignore the loud, continual banging that her ears caught every time she passed by her dorm room. "Just… Building things. That's all."

 


	56. Playing With Your Food

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paranormal Remnant AU.

_Torn from the heavens,  
_ _They fall from the sky,  
_ _And walk the streets among,  
_ _Mortal men.  
_ _They hide in shadows,  
_ _Keepers of the night.  
_ _Mortal life is weak,  
_ _Can't hold back the demons,  
_ _The blood pours as rain,  
_ _And soon you'll be alone._

_\- Descending Angel, by Misfits_

* * *

The town was packed tight, and the club was packed even tighter. Jaune didn't like it one bit, but Yang had pinned him there with a promise. How was he supposed to have fun at a place like this? He wasn't like the rest of these people, and despite his love of dancing, it always seemed to be pointless grinding inside these night clubs. He was going to be sick to his stomach from the scent of alcohol, and he had already been pressured into imbibing more than his fill of it. He forced his way through the thick crowd and back out into the chilly night air, immediately feeling a sense of relief at finally having space to breathe as a pair of teenagers who were definitely not old enough for the place were accepted in by the bouncer beside him.

Jaune leaned against the outside of the club, his brain pounding against the inside of his skull as the light from the streetlamp above him seemed to warp and contort, the shadows appearing to writhe around him like ravenous tendrils. He swayed slightly, certain that he had consumed a bit too much alcohol. Certainly more than he usually did. Fresh air wasn't going to do much for him this time. Another pack of teenagers passed him by, and he could have sworn that he saw a shadow move deliberately in the alley on the other side of the street. He steadied himself against the wall, before shaking his head frantically in an attempt to clear his distorted vision. While this helped his eyes focus, it also brought into focus a haunting melody. The song reverberated against the very air around him, enveloping him while lacking an obvious source. He looked back at the group of teenagers, but they didn't seem to hear it. The bass pumping through the thick walls of the club might have been drowning it out, but he wondered why it seemed so clear to him, but they appeared to miss it entirely. He covered his ears on a hunch, and suddenly the song was the only thing in his world. He nearly fell to the ground in shock, unsure of whether he was just imagining things in his slightly drunken haze. That's when he saw that same shadow move again.

Almost without deciding to, Jaune crossed the street, unsure of why he was drawn to the shadow. His legs seemed to carry him under their own will, drawn in by some knowledge beyond his grasp. As soon as he stepped onto the sidewalk, the siren's call grew louder, urging him onwards. It was reaching the point of becoming painful, and it became hard to focus his thoughts as the sound began to permeate his being. He swallowed, and licked his dry, chapped lips. He tried to debate with himself; was it a good idea to go, to follow this sudden urge? But regardless of what conclusions his mind might have provided, his senses were reeling, and his body pulled him with unwavering purpose towards whatever source the noise had. Drawn by a compulsion beyond his control, Jaune stepped beyond the shadowy threshold of the alleyway, and the darkness rose to swallow him whole. The song ended in an instant, and a flash of white and pale blue caught him by the throat and slammed him against the hard brick wall, pinning him in place. He tried to scream in pain and terror, but a strong but small hand muffled his mouth before his exclamation could gain voice.

Her cold, lifeless, icy-blue eyes found his and he froze. They caught the meager light like glinting gemstones and were the most beautiful things he had ever seen, freezing his terror in his veins. Such were their power that they made him forget that they belonged to the creature who was attacking him. His eyes widened as he took in the rest of her face. Her countenance was emotionless, firm, and just as breathtakingly beautiful as her eyes. A single scar that crossed her left eye vertically was the only imperfection on her visage, but what should have marked her as damaged instead lent an asymmetric beauty to the whole. But despite her pale beauty, it was clear that the creature behind those eyes meant to see him dead, and that he only had moments to live. Instead of struggling desperately against her, he found himself closing his eyes, and relaxing in her grip. She apparently had not anticipated this, as she let out a surprised hum, causing him to open his eyes in confusion. He found her studying him with an interested and almost playful look on her face. The next moment, he was let down gently, and she backed away from him, disappearing back into the shadows as he blinked away his shock.

He rubbed his bruised neck, and choked slightly as he tried to force it to function properly. The creature, whatever she was, had vanished. Jaune shivered in terror, and tried to exit the alley as fast as he could, but the instant he tried to cross into the open street and safety, he found himself thrown back by an unseen force. Panicked, he tried again, and was once again rebuffed, although this time his eyes caught a flash of her white arm. As quick as a lightning strike, he felt himself being shoved back onto his rear by two small hands. He climbed back to his feet and turned to run deeper into the alley. As he tried to find another exit in his flight, her playful laughter rained down from above him, and he whipped his head up in a vain attempt to find its source. Instead, he took in the night sky, an endless void that mocked his feeble attempts at escape. He came upon a T-shaped intersection, and he turned the corner to the right, catching sight of another exit from the alleyway. He rushed for that promised salvation, but found himself once again cut off as her slender hands launched him back into the dark alley, accompanied by that entrancing but cursed laughter. With no other option, he turned, and dashed back to the direction he hadn't tried, not daring to glance back to see if she was still hunting him.

A brick wall, a dead end. Jaune stumbled, breathing hard and fast as he tried to take stock of the situation. There was no way out. He was panicking, floundering as if he were caught in some horrible trap. He jumped as the girl fell from the darkness above and landed lightly before him, not a single pale hair out of place. He tried to shout, even as he felt it would be useless, but it was like her presence itself muffled any attempt of his to break free. Even something as simple as yelling was denied to him. His attempts could gain no strength, and the only thing that managed to force its way past his lips was a small croak of terror. The girl cocked her head, still wearing her small, amused smile, her lengthened canines barely visible under the low light. She approached slowly, and he flinched as she pushed him backwards yet again. He was quickly sent back to the dirty ground, and he crawled back, terrified for his life. She crouched down to his level, then began to stalk him on her hands and knees, swaying with the easy grace of a predator as she approached. He felt himself drawn into her horrifyingly beautiful eyes, which sparkled with something possessive as she bore down on him. He flinched as she nestled her face gently into his neck, and he knew it was all over. He clenched his eyes shut and prepared for the sharp sting of her fangs, but it never came. Instead, the lightest whisper of her lips left a small kiss on his pulse point. "You're strange, meat. But you've piqued my interest, and that is a rare thing indeed. I don't think I want to kill you, yet. But this kiss means that you're mine now. Never forget that." She grasped his head gently and pulled him into a deeper kiss, then was gone in an instant. Shaken, Jaune stood hesitantly, tried to leave the alley again, and found that he was no longer barred from escaping back into the light.

He found his way back to the club, and found Yang waiting for him, tapping her foot in annoyance. "There you are, Jaune. Where the hell have you been?"

"I um…" He blushed, remembering the overwhelming but somehow gentle kiss. Despite the fear in his heart, he smiled. "Nowhere. I just needed a breath of fresh air. Let's get going."

* * *

**Omake, written by** **Aegir01 (aka my editor)** **:**

The pale girl crouched at the edge of the building's roof, watching over the boy who interested her as he left the club with some woman. She briefly considered dropping down there and removing the interloper, but the sight of the boy touching his lips in wonder mollified her for the moment. Still, though she had found something of interest tonight, she still needed to feed.

She swept the area with her enhanced senses, attempting to find prey walking through the streets, still wet from the quick rain shower that had passed through shortly beforehand.

There, another street over, walked a lone teenage girl. Brunette, with her head buried in a book. The pale girl made out the title in the dim light of a streetlamp the girl passed under.

"Twilight?" she grumbled under her breath. "And here I wasn't looking for an empty meal. Beggars can't be choosers, though."

The pale girl crouched, preparing to leap down upon her prey. She didn't notice the puddle under her feet.

*slip* She pitched over the side of the roof with a yelp.

*clang* Found the fire escape. With her head. My, she has quite a vocabulary.

*zzt* What a flimsy power line. Quite an interesting impromptu hairstyle, don't you think?

*crunch* Broken bottles in the dumpster, along with some most unique aromas.

She struggled to pull herself out of the garbage she had landed in, glancing about to make sure that no one had borne witness to her descent. As the empty alleyway reassured her that she wouldn't have to murder anyone to maintain her dignity, she began moving to stalk her prey, wanting nothing more than to get this over with and find a shower. "Gotta stop roof-hopping after it rains."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't play with your food, Weiss!~


	57. Daydreaming

Ruby felt the current situation couldn't possibly be real, but the effect the older girl was having on her senses proved it to be true. She didn't exactly know how this had started, but at the moment, she didn't really care. One minute, she was deep in her books, and the next, lips filled her world. The luscious feeling of Blake's lips against hers was completely consuming Ruby's mind. They were like heaven, or at least what Ruby thought heaven should feel like. Like soft clouds, maybe? Was that too cliche? It would be even more cliche if she were to say they tasted like cherries. Which they totally did. Score one for fruity desserts! She giggled as Blake's hands found their way to her hips, and she was suddenly being pushed back into the bed.

She wondered if Blake felt the same amazement at the sudden situation as she did, and whether Blake was having as much fun as she was. Her heart jumped, and her stomach followed suit, as Blake's fingers caressed her bare skin beneath her shirt. Ruby found that she could care less if the whole thing came off, in fact, she was half hoping that Blake would lose her composure and tear the whole thing away. Just how far would they go? Did she even really care? Probably not. Ruby's mind was consumed by questions initially. Things like: What did this mean? Did she like Blake? Was it possible that Blake liked her? She found no answers, and anytime she started to make progress, the feeling of Blake's tongue would reset her mind. She gamely kept at it, but her heart wasn't really in finding answers to the questions, as preoccupied as she was.

But all hints of those questions disappeared when Blake's lips found her neck, and her thoughts scattered into white noise. A moan escaped Ruby's lips, and her rapid, wild panting mirrored the heaving of her chest as she frantically tried to keep pace with the pleasure racing through her. She scrabbled blindly at Blake, her hands looking for anything and everything to grab onto. Blake licked and sucked at her skin, biting down every now and then as gently as her current state of mind would allow. Ruby's shirt was hitched even further up, and she let Blake take the garment off completely. "Ruby…" She sighed, quietly begging for more. "Ruby!" She took this as instruction, and pulled up Blake's shirt as well, feeling no resistance as Blake moved away from her neck and lifted her arms up. Ruby could just make out the outline of her... "RUBY!"

"Huh, wha-!" Ruby was snapped out of her daydream, her face blushing to match her name. Blake snapped her fingers in front of the redhead's face a few more times for good measure.

"Are you okay? You kind of zoned out a bit there." Ruby wiped at her mouth, discovering that she had been drooling profusely. She sat up straight, looking down at her book and trying to remember her place. She discretely wiped away the small amount of drool that had found its way onto the book.

"Uh, yeah, I'm okay. I was just daydreaming." Blake laughed at the look on her face.

"If you say so. I was just going to ask if you wanted a glass of water."

"Yes please." Ruby focused on holding her countenance as Blake walked out of the dorm, but as soon as the door closed she let out a gasp and placed her hand over her heart. "Damn, I've gotta stop doing that…"


	58. A Little Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on a prompt from the otpprompts tumblr.
> 
> "Imagine your OTP+ lives in a shitty apartment building, and one day Person A get a spider in their bath and freaks out a little, and ends up in the hall asking Person B (and/or C) who they've never met before to please just help them out and get rid of the spider cos they'll be grateful for life, pretty please?"

Jaune settled into the warm bath with a relaxed sigh, staring at the shitty walls of his horrible apartment with disinterest. He hummed a barely recognizable tune, tapping his fingers along the edge of the tub. A small splash brought him out his relaxed state, and he glanced down into the water, but when he saw that a spider had invaded his tub, he let out the most feminine shriek in the world. He whipped his submerged hand out of the water, accidentally lifting the spider out of the water with it. The eight-legged horror flew through the air with all the grace of a nightmarish brick, and plopped onto the floor with a nearly silent  _thud._ Jaune carefully lifted himself out of the water, trying to avoid even glancing at the little invader, his revulsion clear upon his face. He gently tiptoed around the offending arachnid as he beat a hasty retreat out of the bathroom. Carefully, he closed the door behind him, sealing the spider in the room until it could be dealt with. Preferably, by someone else.

* * *

"I'm telling you Weiss," said Yang, "no matter how you look at it, it sounds utterly ridiculous! There is no way in hell that people meet that way in real life; that only happens in cheesy sitcoms!" Weiss shook her head in exasperation as she ascended the steps to Yang's apartment alongside the blond.

"You may say that, but there are some really strange people out there. Without some kind of unusual shared experience, any kind of relationship probably won't start with them. On top of that, with so many ways to meet people, you've gotta expect some irregularity from time to time. Just... put yourself out there and sooner or later you'll find the right person. Even if it starts in the most stupid way imaginable." She came to a halt outside Yang's apartment, turning to cross her arms and give Yang her signature look.

"I'm sorry, I just can't see how tha-" A voice suddenly came from behind them, cutting off whatever Yang couldn't see.

"I'm sorry. I hate to interrupt, but I have a little problem." Yang turned to face the speaker and did a double take. The blond man before her looked like he had dressed in a hurry, leaving his hair messy and wet, but he was still definitely handsome. She found herself placing a hand on her hip to enter her most enticing pose, and Weiss smiled knowingly from behind her. Yang caught the pale girl's expression out of the corner of her eye but ignored it in favor of answering the eye candy in front of her.

"What's the problem, hot stuff?" Yang could practically feel Weiss's insufferable grin glowing from behind her.

Jaune raised his eyebrows at the descriptor, but clasped his hands together in front of his face as he pleaded. "W-well, I'm Jaune from the floor above, and, I uh, have a fear of spiders you see, and this is going to sound like a really weird request, but I kind of have a spider in my bathroom, and I'm afraid to go in there, so could-one-of-you-please-kill-it-I-would-be-very-grateful!" His voice got progressively higher in pitch and his words got fast enough that they started to run together as he raced to the end of his sentence. Yang turned to glare at Weiss. There was no way that this was a coincidence. Weiss just smiled back, her eyes screaming  _I_   _told you so,_  as she opened her mouth to respond for Yang.

"Don't worry! my friend Yang here has no problem with spiders! She'll kill it, no problem!" Weiss practically purred, clearly pleased with the situation.

"Weiss, why can't you do it?" Yang asked, annoyed that she was being volunteered to the task.

Weiss gasped dramatically, pulling a step back with a clearly insincere expression of shock on her face. "What? Are you kidding me? I'm not the one to kill the spiders in our apartment, just ask Ruby! Even she won't kill the spider, actually. We're pretty much textbook examples of useless lesbians!" Yang rolled her eyes.

"God, when will you two just make out and get it over with? I mean, I'm sure Blake wouldn't mind shari-"

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE TALKING ABOUT THAT!" Weiss yelled back, her face flushed. "Now get in there and kill that spider!"

Yang briefly considered further protest, but decided against it. "Alright, lead the way handsome." Jaune cheered, pumping his first in the air.

* * *

Yang stood at the threshold of nightmares, gathering her courage for the task before her. The battlefield that lay beyond was bound to be her toughest fight yet, and the hell-beast that made its lair within was terrible enough to strike fear deep into the heart of any man. But she was no man. "Shoe." She said simply, her hand open to receive her weapon. Jaune wordlessly removed one of his shoes and offered it to her. For her part, Yang took the instrument with reverence, settling it into a tight grasp, unwilling to lose her only hope of destroying the abomination. Thus prepared for the mighty struggle ahead, Yang threw open the door, charged into the fray and slammed the wooden portal shut behind her. As soon as the door  _clicked_  shut, a series of explosions rocked the building, emanating from the war zone sealed beyond the door. The screech of power tools rent the air, the screams of the damned echoed up from Hell itself, and a million cats hissed in fear as the contest was joined. The cacophony continued unabated for several minutes, and then suddenly, there was stillness. Filled with dread, Jaune opened the door and found Yang panting whilst standing over a stain on the tile floor. Even as he started to speak, he noticed her glowing red eyes as she bent back down and resumed pounding the stain in furious rage.

With the evil vanquished, Jaune's courage had returned, but even he balked at interrupting her rampage. But concern for her, and his floor, prompted him into action. "I think it's dead…" Yang was startled out of her brutality, and focused on the horrible mess that was once the spider on the tile floor. Her lilac eyes sheepishly met Jaune's blue.

"Oh, right. Um, you're welcome?" With that, silence descended, as neither knew what the next step should be. Jaune shifted awkwardly. Yang coughed into her hand.

Finally, Jaune's tenuous courage won out. "Yeah, hey, c-can I buy you dinner? I, uh, know this great Chinese place, and…"

"Yeah, of course! We can go right now if you'd like. I don't have any plans!" She stood up with a smile, and Jaune shook off any remaining awkwardness with a laugh at just how crazy the situation was. His laughter was infectious, and Yang couldn't help but join in. As they left the apartment, they found Weiss still waiting for them. Yang made a point of whispering "I hate when you're right," to Weiss as they passed, who replied with the bitchiest grin she could muster.


	59. Nervousness

Weiss knew that she was a gifted singer; she knew that she routinely exceeded the expectations placed upon her by her rigorous and demanding father, let alone anyone else for that matter. Thus, it was absurd for her to be 'getting jitters' at the idea of performing live, but nevertheless, here she was getting ready as best she could, slowly freaking out. She had performed at dozens of shows, all of which had found her totally calm and without the slightest feeling of anxiety, both onstage and off. Weiss Schnee was never nervous. So why was she suddenly so anxious about this show? When she had been called upon to perform for the Vytal Festival she had been ecstatic! Who wouldn't be? It was a great honor, and she loved to perform! But now, on the eve of her big moment, her stomach was tying itself in knots and she felt like she couldn't go onstage.

The hair brush glided through her silver tresses with ease as she gazed into her own crystal clear eyes. The mirror revealed a thousand truths, but told a million lies. She felt like asking herself: "Why?" But she knew she wouldn't get her answer. The Weiss in the reflection was just as hopelessly confused as she was, as the desperately pleading expression imprisoned beyond the glass attested. The dorm room door opened, but it entirely passed by her attention as she struggled in vain to understand her own feelings.

Weiss felt Ruby's hand come to rest on her shoulder before she saw it. She flinched in surprise, physically jerking away in an automatic response, an old trauma from her childhood flashing across her mind in an instant. Ruby drew back hastily, her expression chagrined at forgetting about their agreement that she ask before touching her partner. Unlike the normal outraged ranting that followed that particular mistake, Weiss didn't seem to be angry, so Ruby lowered her hand back to her side and made her way to sit on her bed. "Weiss, are you okay?" There were so many responses Weiss could have given, so many empty excuses or diversions that she could have turned to, but the one that crossed her lips startled Ruby.

"No." The undeniable sadness that was heard in that one simple word would have driven the old Ruby to feel bad for her, but they had been partners and teammates for years, they had stuck together through thick and thin, and they probably understood each other better than anyone else ever could. Ruby was used to seeing her sadness, she was used to sharing it, bearing Weiss' baggage alongside her; because that's what partners did. That's what friends did. And if there was one thing that Ruby knew about Weiss, it was that she could handle a lot of pressure. Weiss had dealt with these moments of self doubt irregularly over the last several years and had always conquered them. Doing so, however, never got any easier, and this instance was no exception. "But I don't really know why," she finished, still staring at her reflection. "You know more than anyone that I go through these phases occasionally, but this time it feels different. This isn't just a mood swing. There's an actual reason, one that isn't just insomnia, or me thinking too much about things that don't matter."

She was seized by another wave of anxiety and stood up to pace about the room restlessly. Ruby watched her aimless meandering worriedly; playing with her cape to try and help herself stay calm, an old habit that she had never kicked. But she knew that she had to press Weiss to help. "What do you think this problem is, then?"

"It's simple, I'm nervous. I'm so nervous about singing, I just know I'm going to mess up and embarrass myself in front of everyone. I feel like I can't get up on that stage, Ruby." There was no response for a few moments, and she just stood still in the silence, watching Ruby for any sign of a reaction. Weiss flinched in surprise as the silence was broken suddenly by the small reaper.

"Nope." Weiss blinked. She should have guessed that that would be her reaction. It was her favorite argument, and normally when she brought it out, it meant that Weiss wasn't going to be able to argue back. "Weiss, you  _are_  thinking too much about things that don't matter. You've done this more times than I can count. You aren't just going to fall apart on stage spontaneously!"

Weiss was not comforted by that at all. "But what if by some freak chance I do? What can I possibly do then? People are going to be disappointed with me if I mess up, Ruby! This is the Vytal festival we're talking about here! I can't afford to make a single mistake, it's like… It's like my childhood all over again." Ruby bit her lip as Weiss closed her eyes, contemplating on what she could do to quell her nervousness.

"Weiss, do you want to talk about it? Your childhood, I mean." Weiss' eyes tore open and centered on Ruby.

"Why? I've already told you everything, haven't I?" Despite her harsh words, Weiss's gaze softened as she realized that she was sick of standing, and took a spot next to Ruby on the bed.

"Yeah, but it always seems to calm you down. I just thought…"

"Thanks Ruby, but I don't think talking about my past problems is going to help much. I can't think of anything to calm myself down. I might just have to power through it." Ruby was undeterred, and held out her hands towards Weiss. Weiss smiled at the old motion, something Ruby had done as long as she had known the younger girl. She reached out and slowly took Ruby's hands in hers, her soft skin contrasting with Ruby's calloused hands. The simple, affectionate contact felt good to Weiss, and Ruby spoke up at the pale girl's smile.

"Listen to me, okay? You're going to be fine, and you're going to do great. You're going to walk out on that stage in front of everyone, you're going to sing beautifully, and you're going to dazzle  _everyone._  I know it." She pulled Weiss' hands to her chest, and Weiss could faintly feel Ruby's calm heartbeat. "If you're nervous about doing this, then why don't you test it out with me? Perform for me as you would for the crowd." Ruby released her hands, and stood up carefully so as not to surprise Weiss. She grabbed the nearest chair and spun it around so that the backrest was facing Weiss, and took a seat while resting her arms across the top. Weiss laughed cheerily at Ruby's expectant stare. Ruby always knew just how to cheer her up in a heartbeat.

"Okay, I guess I can give you an exclusive preview. I don't do this kind of service often, so be honored." Ruby stuck her tongue out childishly, and Weiss felt her smile grow broader. She sat up as straight as possible, tilting her head downward and flexing her chest out. She clutched her hands together and placed them on her lap, and her poise became so perfect that Ruby was suddenly reminded that she was, in fact, an heiress. When she opened her mouth to sing, Ruby closed her eyes and sank into the music. Weiss' soft voice sang an undercurrent of peace, and love, and friendship, even if the words didn't precisely match those themes. And by the time the last notes had faded into emptiness, Ruby had been carried into the arms of tranquil slumber. Weiss gently lifted her from the chair and laid her onto the bed, taking extra care not to wake her. As Weiss straightened, she smiled as she realized that her nervousness had fled, and it was all thanks to the dear friend laying before her.

She brushed aside a stray strand of hair that threatened to tickle Ruby's nose. "You're such a great friend," Weiss whispered softly.

 


	60. Left Blooming Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sorry.

_'Tis the last rose of summer,  
_ _Left blooming alone;  
_ _All her lovely companions  
_ _Are faded and gone;  
_ _No flower of her kindred,  
_ _No rosebud is nigh,  
_ _To reflect back her blushes,  
_ _Or give sigh for sigh._

_\- The Last Rose Of Summer, by Thomas Moore_

* * *

The night was cold and still, a time for quiet contemplation. The shattered moon far above spread its wan light freely through the cloudless sky, reminding the world that some things had been lost, broken beyond repair. The fish trapped within the mirror of the settled lake knew nothing of these truths, locked into their simple existences as they were. Maybe then, there was a chance to live a happy life even on this ruined world? Or maybe only fish could keep their eyes low enough to never be reminded of tragedy, to only bask in the beauty of the moonlight shining across the lake. It certainly was of no consolation to Ruby, whose silver eyes could not restrain their tears. They were locked on the fractured moon far above, even as her feet were mired in the moist earth of the lake's edge. The constant stream of tears coursing their way down her pale face stung Ruby's eyes, and she wiped them away once again, knowing that they would not be so easily banished. She had long ago discovered that the only way to truly blunt her sorrow was to let it out into the world, hoping beyond hope that the one whom she wishes she could see again was listening. "I... I always thought of you as someone who would protect me even if I couldn't see you. I always felt you there with me... even though I knew it was just wishful thinking and that I was only fooling myself. But it made me happy, gave me courage. I felt that, if you were there for me, then I could accomplish anything I set my mind to, and, in the end, I did. I fought and fought through the most hopeless situations, and though I knew everyone else had my back, it was the idea of you that made me feel truly safe." There was no answer to her admission, no response forthcoming to comfort her. Instead, there was only the distant keen of a stray gale as it drifted aimlessly in its endless journey.

Her gaze fell to her reflection as the movements of the fish obscured it with ripples. "You were always there for me when you were alive, and I never expected you to be taken away so soon. I suppose no one did." She laughed bitterly, darkly amused at her own weakness. "This has to be the thousandth time I've said that to you. You're probably sick of hearing it by now, but that feeling hasn't changed in all these years. I just keep holding onto the hope that you're standing right beside me, supportive hand on my shoulder, telling me to keep my chin up like you always did. Why can't I just let it go? I don't really know. I stopped visiting your grave ages ago, though you probably already knew that. Everyone told me to just let go, but I couldn't. Not entirely." Some tears finally fell free from her cheeks into the water, distorting her reflection even more heavily.

"Is that why you're ignoring me now? I haven't seen you in my dreams for so long, and I really miss you. Is it because I've stopped visiting your resting place? I'm so sorry if it is. I didn't want to stop, but they thought it was starting to affect my sanity, and, honestly, I couldn't really deny it. Jaune was patient, though, he understood why I didn't want to lose my link to you; he always has. I guess that's why I'm still talking to you, to try and keep that connection. Or rather, to reconnect. It's been awhile since we've had it. I always think that I'll just... fall asleep one day, and you'll greet me with your warm smile, and you'll hold out your hands. And of course I'd take them, there would be no hesitation. I'm... not sure what would happen after that, to tell you the truth." Her body shuddered in grief as she tried to maintain a strong facade. An owl hoot struck out against the stark silence of the night. It echoed woefully, and Ruby suddenly hated being alone. She wrapped her cloak tightly around herself, hoping to feel closer to her mother, to feel her familiar aura lend its calming power.

"I guess this is goodbye for the final time… I love you, sis." The chill wind blew a farewell as she began walking back to her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little sorry.


	61. Hit Me

Yang had been worried that this would happen. No matter how she tried to avoid it, it was like clockwork. Was one weekend full of respite, peace, and quiet too much to ask for? Just one? Ruby stared at Jaune with a fury Yang had only seen once before, and he stared back with equal rage. The controllers in their hands threatened to snap under the pressure, as the characters on the TV screen were left staring each other down. The life bars were down to the slimmest they could be on both sides, and Yang had to admit that it had been a tense match. Unfortunately, it had led to these circumstances.

Why they did this was beyond her, but Ruby loved to let Jaune win, and he loved to let Ruby win as well. Despite how they loved to crush absolutely everyone else, when it came to the other one, it just fell apart. The spirit of friendly competition was apparently lost on the both of them. "You can go ahead, it's okay," Ruby growled at him politely.

"No, you do it! I insist," Jaune snarled back chivalrously. "Just hit me!" Yang wanted to do just that. Ruby narrowed her eyes with determination.

"Nope, you hit me first!" Yang never wanted to hear that come out of her sister's mouth again, but she had a sinking feeling that this wasn't stopping anytime soon. "You're going to win whether you like it or not!"

"See, this is why we never get through many games!"

"And this is my fault? If you would just hit me then this would all be over, and we could move on to the next game!" Yang sighed, but knew better than to interfere.

"Just hit me and accept that you're the better player!"

"No,  _you_  hit me and accept that  _you're_  the better player!" Yang covered her ears as her eye began to twitch rapidly. She wanted nothing more than to just storm out of the room and knock down the nearest door to vent her frustrations. But the nearest door was JNPR's door, and Nora had already blown that up last week. Any more and Pyrrha would probably have the head of the perpetrator. Dust knows that the spartan was the only one with any sense in that room, besides Ren, but he was basically useless at reigning in the craziness.

Just as she was about to lose her temper for good, Ruby suddenly leaned over and gave Jaune the most heated kiss Yang had ever born witness to in her life. Suddenly things were incredibly awkward, and she wished Blake or Weiss were there to help alleviate some of the awkwardness, or at least share in her suffering. But no, she was left all by herself, watching her sister make out with her boyfriend post-argument. Or were they still arguing? Jaune suddenly gave a cry of shock as his character hit Ruby's finishing the match, and she fell back with a victorious shout. "No fair!" Jaune complained. "You made my finger slip!"

Ruby's triumphant grin lit up the room. "Doesn't matter, still counts!"

Jaune grumbled in malcontent as he reach for another game box. "Whatever, let's just start the next game." Yang slapped her forehead and groaned. She had to disagree with her old belief. They were perfect for each other, they were both complete dorks.


	62. Piggyback Rides

The familiar motion was making Ruby sleepy. She remembered back when she was just a little kid, and Yang would give her piggyback rides into the house when she tired herself out from playing too hard. Jaune was better at giving piggyback rides, in her opinion. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter to prevent herself from falling if she did indeed lull off. Jaune looked back at her with a beaming smile. She was too cute sometimes. She just smiled back, and her eyes said so much. She sleepily blinked, and he grabbed a firmer hold of her legs. He leaned forward to stop her from leaning back, and just like that she fell asleep.

He was used to it, as it happened often. She was always tired after classes, especially their Leadership class. That one always took it out of her. He would always say to her that she needed to slow down, but she was so dedicated to being the best leader she could be, and he knew there was no stopping her. Yang snickered quietly, and as he looked over she began whispering, "Jaune and Ruby, sitting in a tree!~" He rolled his eyes and laughed, enjoying the feeling of Ruby's semi-tight hold as exhaled gently on his neck.

 


	63. Staring

Jaune couldn't stop staring, no matter how hard he tried to do so. Velvet was just too cute for her own good. The test in front of him was probably more important, but he didn't care. She was concentrating so hard that her tongue was hanging partially out of her mouth, and it was the cutest thing Jaune had ever seen. Her ears bounced slightly as she sprang her knee up and down rapidly. He laid his arms down on the table and rested his head on them. The way her face lit up when she figured out the correct answer was the greatest thing to Jaune, who had never really paid too much attention to her mannerisms until recently.

She tapped her pencil against her cheek and bit her lip, she smirked when a question was easy, and she held her breath when she handed in her paper. She sort of hopped back to her seat happily, ecstatic that she could enjoy a few moments of silence before class was over. Jaune looked away quickly as she looked over to him, and he was certain she had caught the blush on his cheeks. He dared a look back and he saw her blushing too, her mouth open in a sort of awe. He turned his focus back to the test, and it was her turn to watch him.

 


	64. Mittwinter

The room was cold and dark, even though the radiator was on full blast. Jaune supposed that the atmosphere could do that. It was mid-winter, and the frost currently covering his dorm’s windows made him want to curl up in a blanket and drift into oblivion to forget that this was even happening. But it was, and Weiss’ sobbing was definitely not going to allow him to drift off easily. He was glad he couldn't see her tears, clear as purest water, and trailing down her pale cheeks. It would be too much for him to handle, too much to take in without losing his composure himself. Not that the whole situation was easy to swallow for either of them. The only consolation to his troubled mind was that the tears were not because of him. But they were about them, and that was enough. She didn’t want to talk about it, and he knew that it wouldn't be solved by something that simple. A bit of advice from his oldest sister flashed through his mind. There isn’t a single problem that can’t be solved by talking to your partner, Jaune. Remember that. He had always assumed that was true, and he had always tried his hardest to communicate with Weiss. They told each other everything. When they were uncomfortable, when they were scared, when they were doubting things. There wasn’t a single thing that was left unsaid between them. There wasn’t a single problem they didn’t think of. Except for Weiss’ fame.

Of course, Jaune thought. It seems so obvious in hindsight. When the first flash of the camera came, Weiss knew instantly what it was. It hadn’t happened in a long while, so she was no longer used to it, no longer on guard. She dropped her coffee in surprise and it spilled all over the table, in that single instant, their date was ruined. She rushed out as fast as she could, holding onto Jaune’s arm like he was the only thing that mattered. Him, and getting back to Beacon as soon as possible. She cried on the airship, and when Jaune asked her what the problem was she didn’t answer him. It was the first time that she hadn't answered one of his questions. Jaune discovered all too quickly what the problem was the next day. It was literally the front page news. Up until that point, the only people who knew they were dating were their friends, and anyone who saw them by chance when they were casually showing affection. Not even her father had known. And that was the real problem. He could see it in her eyes whenever she talked about her life at home, whenever she talked about her relationship with her father. She was terrified of him. She didn’t need to say anything for Jaune to understand that. So now that their relationship was out in the opening, she was wondering what would happen. How her father would react to this, how her sister would react to this.

The one thing she had always tried to avoid if she could was now the one thing that seemed the most likely to happen. Contact with her family was like a nightmare for her. He could still remember the first time she had woken up from a dream, sweating and panting, clutching onto his arm like he was her savior. He wasn’t. He couldn’t take her away from that, he couldn’t save her. They were personal demons, and he could only help scare them away for a small moment, and then they returned at their first opportunity.

Jaune was knocked out of his internal musing by a small shift of his bed, and a small, soft hand covering his own. He mentally slapped himself for leaving her alone on the other end of the room like that. Of course she wanted comfort now, it was very possible that their relationship could be forbidden by the only person who had any control over her life. He kissed the top of her head and pulled it close to his chest. Weiss had done a lot of changing over the course of their relationship. The fact that she so readily sought affection was a testament to that. The idea that she would turn to him for reassurance was once preposterous, but now she did so naturally as she mumbled into his skin, “Jaune, do you think everything will be okay?” That was a simple question. One that he didn’t think he wanted to answer.

How exactly do you answer a question like that, he wondered. You could promise that everything would be okay, but everyone knew that was a lie; there was no way to know if everything would be okay. In fact, he was almost certain that something was going to happen that they wouldn’t like. But he couldn’t just say that to her. As true as it might be, it wasn't the right thing to say. So in the end, he chose the easiest path. “I don’t know.” Her tears were still there, he could feel them soaking into his hoodie. “But what I do know is that we’ll be fine. I can promise you that much.” He felt her shift again, and this time he was pulled closer to her. They laid back on his bed in peace, and Jaune knew that this was what they needed. The whirlwind of emotions she had been feeling had been driving her into exhaustion, and though he wasn’t exactly sure what the future held for the two of them, he would find a way to stay with her. This he swore. And an Arc never goes back on his word.

“Please, don’t promise me anything. I’m scared that you won’t be able to keep it.” That fear was justified. Beyond her father, there was the ever-dangerous life of a Hunter. Nothing was ever guaranteed. “I’ve been lied to my whole life, Jaune. I don't think I could take any lies from you. Whether or not you mean them to be.”

“Then I promise not to make any promises.” She chuckled at that, a surprisingly light sound to break her previous timidity.

“I guess I’ll allow that one, just this once.” She wiped the tears away again as Jaune placed a tiny kiss on her forehead before continuing.

“Good. You’re so strong Weiss; you put up with so much, and you always manage to come out of it even stronger than before. It’s just one of the many things I admire about you.” He gently lifted off her tiara and undid her ponytail. Her long, silver hair flowed freely across the bed, and she let out a sigh of relief as she adjusted herself to get more comfortable. Suddenly feeling constricted, Weiss took out her earrings, and unclasped her necklace, placing them on the night stand by his bed alongside her tiara.

“I’m not that strong, apparently, I’m weak for you and your stupid, perfect blue eyes, and your dumb, comfortable warmth. And your sweet voice, and your cute, messy blond hair.”

“Oh, are we naming off things about each other that we like?”

“No, I think I would win anyway.” She smirked competitively, and Jaune felt his own competitive spirit attempt to kick in. But he knew this wasn't the time for such, so he put it aside.

“I think we both love everything about each other, how’s that sound?” She bit her lip softly and seemed to think about it.

“That’s acceptable, especially because I know it’s true.” All thoughts of their troubles were gone as they goofed off with each other, and Jaune was forced to admit that maybe there was some truth to his sister’s advice after all. Not all talks with your partner had to be serious.


	65. Dance With Me

The intense feeling of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach was a slight annoyance. The great, invincible Pyrrha Nikos brought to her knees by one girl that had absolutely no idea she was even doing anything. Nora bounced excitedly in her chair to the sound of the music blasting through her headphones, and Pyrrha had to admit it was insanely catchy. The fact that she could even tell that was cause for concern, seeing as how Nora seemed to not care about her hearing at all. Regardless, her seemingly infinite ability to focus on multiple things at once with no problems whatsoever was scary, even to Pyrrha. She was writing down a lot of information, and yet she was mouthing  _all_  the words of the song like it was second nature to her.

Her knees bounced, her arms occasionally moved in tune to the beat, her feet were playing kick drums at the speed of sound. She was dancing. While sitting down. To Pyrrha it was the cutest thing she had ever witnessed, and felt she would ever witness with her eyes. Her orange hair threw itself messily all over the place, and her freckled face held an expression of joy as she absolutely refused to stop enjoying herself. Pyrrha wished she could actually join her in that moment, wished she could enjoy herself with Nora as much as she seemed to be doing on her own. And they were the only two in the dorm, there was absolutely nothing stopping her from asking Nora to plug her scroll into her stereo and dance with her. Because Nora would never question it, she knew. She would just  _agree._  That was how she was.

Any excuse to dance was a good one in her books.

Pyrrha bolstered her confidence and took a deep breath before throwing caution to the wind. She stood up and walked up behind Nora, tapping her on the shoulder. Nora took her headphones off one ear and with a huge, lovely smile that made Pyrrha's heart threaten to burst, turned to look at her. "Oh, sup P?" Pyrrha managed to fight back a blush from her pale cheeks and cleared her throat.

"Y-you seemed to be enjoying yourself, and I heard the music coming from your headphones so I was just wondering if you wanted to…" Nora's smile grew wider as she urged Pyrrha to finish her sentence. A feat that she suddenly found incredibly hard to do. "D-d-dance with… Me…" she finally managed to choke out. The blush she thought she had thwarted returned full force as Nora seemingly grew even more giddy at the thought. With incredible speed and excitement Nora nearly threw off her headphones and plugged the auxiliary cable into the speaker and her scroll. All of a sudden the music blasted through her stereo speakers and with an excited cry Nora grabbed Pyrrha's hands and started into a clumsy, but very happy dance.

"I thought you would never ask!" Nora started laughing at the exasperated look on Pyrrha's face, and Pyrrha felt herself falling into its contagiousness. The beats pumping out of the boombox, the happy guitar, the funky bass, the drum beats that carried their feet. It was all leading them into a more practiced type of movement, more precise. Pyrrha very quickly grew to not care about anything but the bubbly girl dancing close to her and the fun they were having. It was the most satisfying thing in the whole world to see Nora smiling even wider than before, smiling wider because she was having fun  _with her._

They twisted, they turned, the grabbed each other's hands and went with the rhythm and the flow. They followed each other's movements, they did their own thing, they sang to the heavens with glee. The moment was brought tumbling down as someone knocked on the door. "Some teams are still asleep you know!" Nora let out an 'eep' as she quickly went to turn the music off. Pyrrha let out a sigh as Nora yelled an apology to whoever disturbed their moment of happiness. Pyrrha went to sit back down on the bed with a look that just screamed disappointment. Nora tapped her on the shoulder and as she turned around she was met with a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Pyrrha, that was  _sooooo_  much fun while it lasted!" Nora skipped back to her seat to work more on her test, leaving Pyrrha with wide eyes and a blush redder than Ruby's cloak.

"You're welcome."


	66. Alone Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: This chapter was rather spontaneous, and really I let my bookish side go loose on this one because it was Blake's POV. It was fun. :p

Bradbury once wrote of two strangers, a man from Earth on a nearly dead and forgotten area of Mars, full of crumbling ruins of dead cities once inhabited by a lost civilization; and a Martian, from the time before the man came to Mars, meeting at the same point in time, or rather at the same point  _between_  time while also existing in their own respective times. Both of them being simply transient visitors. Blake supposed that she must be feeling the strangeness of such a situation out in the darkness of the desert with only one companion by her side to shake the feeling of loneliness away. But Ruby was really there, not simply a shade of a forgotten era. She knew because she could touch her, she could feel the warmth of her skin against her own. Even as the chill night air blew against it and gave her goosebumps.

She shook them off as Ruby dug her head deeper into her neck, and she pulled the blanket up to ensure that Ruby stayed as warm as possible. The cold metal of the car they had been traveling in lay against their backs, and they against it. It was perhaps not the most comfortable of options, but Ruby said she had never seen so many stars at once and she wanted to get a closer look. Who was Blake to deny her that simple of a pleasure? She herself had never before seen this many either, but her focus remained on Ruby, or more likely just the feeling of having her close. She really didn't know why Bradbury came up in her mind, or why that specific bit of  _The Martian Chronicles_  had. Maybe it was the feeling it had given her every single time she read it. But still how odd, she thought, that that should spring to her mind and not something more along the lines of Fitzgerald, or Austen; even the Brontë sisters would have been a bit more fitting.

But she supposed the feeling of the moment wasn't really romantic as much as it was distant. Though the two of them were so close together, she still felt so alone in the world. It was cold, and it felt like they were the last two people on Earth. Blake didn't know why she had accepted Ruby's seemingly spontaneous plans to go to Las Vegas, she really didn't. But they were very nearly there and her car hadn't broken down once, which was a miracle in and of itself. "Do you think we'll make it there in time to get a hotel room before sunrise," Ruby asked suddenly. Blake bit her lip softly as she put her brain to good use for the first time in the last thirty minutes. If they left right now and booked it, then maybe. But seeing as how they were content to fall asleep in the middle of the desert, in darkness so empty and foreign that she never could have thought it existed, she doubted it.

"I don't know," she answered simply, looking up at the various constellations, and star clusters, and planets, and satellites visible to the naked eye. Space, never-ending for as far as the eye can see. And they could see far. "We should probably get going if you want sleep in a bed tonight." Ruby pouted. She couldn't see it, but she knew she did. Ruby was the first to raise herself up and out of the blanket, and as Blake stared at her sleepy face she felt a fondness swell deep in her chest. Ruby was always so cute.

"Okay," was all she got as an answer. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, and God knows neither felt like breaking it for something as often held between them as conversation. Blake grabbed the blanket and jumped off the car, getting in and starting it up as Ruby climbed in the passenger seat slowly. Within seconds they were off, and within minutes Ruby fell asleep. Blake took her eyes off the road for a small second to gaze at her, and with a small smile went back to driving. She took one hand off the wheel and placed a finger against her pocket, feeling for the small, circular object inside of it. She traced the ring with her finger, and thought of all the ways she could possibly make Ruby's dreams come true within the next few days.


	67. Words (Yang x Pyrrha)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one started out as something different than what it became. You can tell pretty easily. However, I like it, and seeing as how I haven't gotten anything out that I've written by myself in a long time, I thought I would post it. This is my first time really doing this pairing, and it's really an odd idea for it, but I wanted to write it. I felt compelled to actually, it's 1:47 in the morning as of writing this, and I've been trying to write this for the past two hours. Usually it takes me a lot less than 2 hours to write something this short, but I was dedicated to finishing it in some way. I hope you all enjoy, despite how sort of OOC everyone seems, and how tell-instead-of-showy it is.

Yang Xiao Long was not a smart woman. Well… She was smart, but she wasn't Weiss smart, or Pyrrha smart. She was just smart enough. However, she made up for not having the extra smarts that they had in feeling. Yes, Yang Xiao Long was a master at feeling. She felt things every day, raw emotion. Love, fear, anxiety, anger, you name it. She's felt it all, from small amounts of it to massive, life changing amounts of it.

That's why Yang liked to think of herself as the master.

But her title was on the line. Because she couldn't for the life of her figure out what her feelings were for Pyrrha. It had started off easily enough to identify as a crush. One tiny little spark of one that she gained after watching her fight one on one in Goodwitch's class. She was awfully beautiful, Yang noted. The way she danced rhythmically in time with silent music, dodging incoming attacks and dealing out as much damage as possible with well timed, well aimed strikes.

She had watched as the battle raged, and the sweat started to cover her in a reflective sheen, and her hair started getting wet with perspiration as well. She was awfully beautiful, she noted.  _And my heart skipped a beat,_  she noted as well.

Pyrrha Nikos.  _Pyrrha Nikos._  What a beautiful name, she had thought one day, despite her best efforts to focus on her test. She looked over as Pyrrha kept helping Jaune with  _his_ test, and a small pang of envy hit her.  _He doesn't know just how lucky he is to have her affection._  And Yang knew that it was too true of a statement. But she knew also that Jaune was a good guy, and held nothing against him for liking her sister instead.

And now, a month later, she didn't know what her feelings were. They were close friends, all of them were. RWBY couldn't exist without JNPR at the point they were at. It was just how it turned out. There was a dynamic there. Their leaders were the best of friends and getting closer every day. They  _all_ seemed to be getting closer every day. Ren and Weiss, Blake and Nora, people you wouldn't think would get along were getting closer. Her and Pyrrha… They were getting closer too, but not in the way she wanted.  _Or are we?_  Yang had absolutely no idea what she wanted, and it pissed her off to no end.

Yang looked down at the blank paper in front of her.  _You have to take notes._ Professor Port continued on with his lecture, or rather, his story of derring-do, featuring, you guessed it, himself.  _You have to at least pretend to be paying attention._  So she started scribbling whatever words jumped into her mind. And sooner or later she had a poem. She didn't know how to write poems. Well, she  _did_ , but she had no previous experience with the writing of poems. She had gone off instinct.

The words jumped at her again. In her mind they spiraled aimlessly all over the place, like a tornado of words, words that she tried to catch in a container of some kind. She didn't always catch a word, sometimes one flew right past her and she felt saddened by it. But even more words came and took its place, and she at least managed to catch one of those.

Pages later, she had several poems, and one long poem.

_Strands of molten fire cascade down your back,  
And from your beauty I am taken aback.  
Though it's not from lack of trying that I can't tell you this,  
But merely because I am afraid that my feelings you'll dismiss._

She didn't know how to write poems. She rhymed 'back' with 'aback'. She wrote more words and dismissed the feeling of someone looking over her shoulder. She didn't care. She wrote on, and on, and on until her hand felt like it couldn't write anymore. The bell rung, class was dismissed. She wrote a few more words, and closed her notebook.

She stood up and looked around, suddenly feeling a small headache forming. Too many words, perhaps, in such a short amount of time. Pages, upon pages of words. Beautiful words, because they were all describing Pyrrha Nikos. In rhyme, out of rhyme, no matter what, they were all about her. Literary devices that had no idea they were literary devices clung to the white, wide ruled paper in her notebook in the form of ink from her pen. And Yang suddenly wished she had more free time to write even more. Because at least in this way she could get the words out.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself as another torrent of words came at her directly. But this time the words weren't in her head, and weren't even hers. They belonged to the person who her words were about. "Hello, Yang. How are you today?" The familiar greeting brought a smile to her face. Pyrrha was the exact opposite of casual most of the time, but it added to her charm.

"Hey P, I'm doing okay. Just a little out of it right now," Yang replied, placing a hand to her head and rubbing her temple. She subconsciously held on tighter to her notebook.

"Oh, you should go to the infirmary to get some medicine. It doesn't do to keep on like you're fine if you have a headache. I know I can never focus when my head hurts." Yang nodded, feeling like that would be a good idea.

"Yeah, I'll go now, before our next class starts."

"May I accompany you? I like to stretch my legs a little after sitting for so long."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind the company." All along the way Pyrrha couldn't keep from glancing at the introspective look on Yang's face. It was so different from the norm. So unusual.

Yang was awfully beautiful, she noted. The introspective look, however, didn't suit her as much as her normal cocky grin, or radiating happiness. But she was still beautiful nonetheless, and Pyrrha couldn't keep herself from wondering what was going on inside her best friend's head. What was hidden underneath those strands of gold? What nuggets of thought could she find if she only asked what was on her mind? Somehow that felt a bit too much.

How could she ask such a personal question and expect an answer? But she did anyway, not really expecting the truth so much as she was hoping to leave the silence behind them. "What are you thinking about?"

Yang looked at her in surprise and wanted to answer with an immediate  _you._  But of course she didn't. "Just some stuff that's been on my mind recently. It's making it really hard to focus. Don't tell anyone, but… I spent all of Port's class writing. Poetry, mostly, but sometimes just words I felt like writing. It's like it's the only way I can get them out. It's kind of pathetic, I know."

"I don't think it's pathetic, I think it's great," Pyrrha said, and Yang felt her cheeks alight. Though she knew Pyrrha didn't know the words were about her, it felt great receiving the praise from her. "Words are important, and if you can't say them, then you might as well write them. Or at least that's what I've always believed."

"Yeah that's a great way of looking at it I guess." Silence. Silence as they walked. By the time they got to the infirmary and asked for a bottle of aspirin, Yang's headache already subsided. But she still took them anyway, knowing that even if she didn't have one, two pills wouldn't hurt her, and she really didn't want to walk all the way over to the infirmary for nothing. She and Pyrrha started walking out, but before they could exit someone burst through the door and knocked Yang to the floor.

"I'm really sorry," they heard, but the person responsible was already gone. She didn't hold it against them, the one reason they could have for running into the infirmary was obvious. She would have done the same if it were Ruby, or any of her friends really. She gathered her strength and stood once more, feeling around for a small second in panic for her notebook. She looked to Pyrrha and stood frozen. Pyrrha was reading it.

_It must have landed open,_ Yang thought. Pyrrha's face was red, and she looked up to Yang in disbelief. "I-… This is all very flattering, I… Had no idea. Are they all about me?"

"Y-yeah…" Pyrrha smiled, her blush receding and amazement and curiosity taking its place.

"Yang, these are absolutely beautiful. But I don't know if-"

"Don't answer, please. I didn't even ask the question. Just give it some time. Just… Please." A heartbeat later Pyrrha nodded. She walked forward and extended the notebook to Yang, who shook her head and pushed it back to her. "Nuh uh, you keep it. It's almost full, I need another one anyway. Actually, I think I'll go get one right now. I have even more words to write. and the last bullhead leaves in like ten minutes." Yang walked out of the infirmary, leaving Pyrrha looking down at her words.

_I suppose I know what I'm reading before bed tonight,_  thought Pyrrha, who started walking back to her dorm with a head full of words. Words she desperately needed to get out.

 


	68. A Bit More Bearable (Coco x Velvet)

Velvet looked outside the window at the rain that seemed to be pouring endlessly from the heavens, and the raindrops that stained her reflection imperfect. Upon noticing Coco approaching from behind, she grew stiff, and this caused Coco to stop her approach. Velvet was always skittish, but never around her.

"Velvet?" Coco's voice called out softly, questioningly. Velvet turned to meet her gaze slowly, and noticed that she wasn't wearing the sunglasses she always wore. Even indoors. She turned away again, this time her gaze focusing on the courtyard below.

Coco's eyes were always her weakness. Such a deep, dark, yet cool color of brown. They were every bit as soft as they were calm, and at times, fiery and stern. Though she had only ever seen that side of her eyes a few times in all her time on the team, and they were every bit a pleasure to see as when her eyes were as they are now.

But right now… _now…_ right at this moment, she didn't want to see them. She didn't want those beautiful, soft, calm eyes searching through her soul and picking out all the despicable parts she hated.

"Coco… Please go away. I really don't want to talk right now. To anyone." She just hoped that Coco understood that, and didn't press the matter. Coco didn't seem to, and just continued advancing towards her. Velvet sighed as Coco took her spot next to her near the window, but her sigh turned to a confused hum as Coco placed a blanket around her.

"I can't do that." Velvet knew why of course. As the leader of team CFVY she had to keep tabs on how all the members of the team were feeling, and she had a responsibility to keep them all happy. Team morale was an important thing. But Velvet just couldn't help it. There were times that she ended up feeling sad, and she had always managed to hide them, but here she was not even attempting to hide _this_ time.

"Well, I already know what you're going to say next," the surprised expression that flashed across Coco's face was expected. "So, before you ask, no. I don't feel like talking about it, and I don't _want_ to talk about it."

"That wasn't what I was going to say." It was Velvet's turn to be surprised. "Velvet, we've been friends for so long, I'm really surprised that you think I don't know you as much as I do. You think you hide it from me, but you don't. Not as well as you think you do. It's always in your eyes. I know that since you're not hiding it this time, it must be pretty bad. So I was just going to ask… If you wanted some hot chocolate. It's pretty cold in here."

Velvet shivered and wrapped the blanket that Coco had placed on her shoulders around her body more securely. It _was_ pretty cold, and she never even noticed until Coco had mentioned it. Coco's soft smile made her feel a bit more warm though, along with the blanket. She smiled for the first time in hours, though it was a small one, and nodded her head. "Is it okay if we watch one of the movies I brought with me from home, too?"

"Of course. I'm always up for one of your dumb romantic comedies." Velvet let out a faint chuckle.

"Dumb? Is that why you always get so sucked into them?" Coco felt a feeling of accomplishment at seeing her smile, and hearing her laugh. Those two things of hers were so unique… so _Velvet_ that it felt good to hear and see.

"Hey, it's not my fault, watching them with you just makes the experience so much more enjoyable." Velvet had a feeling that tonight was going to be just a bit more bearable than she thought. Just a bit.

' _Or maybe a lot,"_ she thought, looking into Coco's eyes.


	69. Too Hot, Hot Damn (Jaune x Ren)

The cafe was as quiet as ever, which Ren and Jaune saw as a good thing. Their weekly hangouts were quite possibly the only things they really had to look forward to and be excited about anymore, and the peace and quiet was a fantastic bonus.

To say that their dorm room was loud was an understatement, what with Nora being as excitable and energetic as she was. Pyrrha liked the quiet as much as they did but she seemed to only fuel Nora's fire as of late. It was all too easy to see why, and that was also partly the reason they took their quiet days away from them.

Another reason was that Jaune just liked to be around Ren, and Ren liked to be around Jaune just the same. There was a certain feeling in the air when they were near each other that neither could define. Ren's peacefulness and Jaune's ability to accept and appreciate that peacefulness went well together. A fact they both seemed conscious of.

"It really is nice to be away from everyone sometimes. Things can get a little hectic every now and then," Jaune said, relaxed beyond what he truly ever thought possible. Ren looked at the content smile on his face and gave one of his own.

"Yes, things do get hectic. But we chose our friends for a reason. I think a part of us truly likes the chaos that goes on around us." Ren believed firmly in the old saying 'opposites attract,' and the more Jaune talked with him the more he began to agree with him.

"It reminds me of home," Jaune said to Ren's reply. "My house was always so loud and energetic. It never agreed with my head but I sure had a lot of fun growing up."

"I don't think you've ever told me too much about your family," Ren said casually, embracing the new topic of conversation.

"I haven't? Odd, I usually talk people's ears off about them. Well there's a lot to tell, if you really want to know about them." Ren nodded for Jaune to continue. "Alright, well first I'll start with my sisters. I have the most stories about them." Jaune opened his mouth to begin a story, but was interrupted by a waitress bringing them their drinks. He smiled widely at her and handed her a generous tip directly as both he and Ren took their drinks.

"So anyway, as I was going to say, my big sister Violet has always been the smartest person I've ever known. There's one story that I remember more than any other, and it's the first time I ever saw her make a mistake. It's pretty funny, actually…" Jaune went to take a sip and immediately regretted it as his tongue burned hotter than a thousand suns. Or at least the tiniest fraction of a single sun possible. He winced and all but slammed the coffee cup on the table.

Ren chuckled quietly as a few other patrons looked over to see what the deal was. "Too hot?" Jaune nodded, his eyes closed as he tried to forget the momentary agony he just brought on himself. A few minutes passed by as Ren patiently let Jaune's tongue stop hurting. When Jaune couldn't feel the roof of his mouth with his tongue, let alone the pain, he began again.

"This is going to seem very dumb but… I may have forgotten the story just then." Ren chuckled even more and took a sip from his own drink. "Sorry, I'm sure you probably wanted to hear it after I kind of hyped it up a bit."

Ren reached forward and placed his hand on the one Jaune had resting on the table. Jaune smiled as their hands intertwined and Ren's thumb caressed the back of his. It was an action that neither of them minded when the other did. "It's alright, Jaune. I'm sure you'll remember later, and if not, there's plenty of other stories you could tell me." They both smiled and looked out the window next to their booth. It was a great, sunny, cool day out.

"I can tell you dozens. Just… Not that one. Yet. Do you want to go on a walk? I know a park a few blocks from here that's just full of flowers. It's really beautiful."

"Sure, Jaune. That sounds lovely."


	70. Sleeping In (Ladybug)

Ruby laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling of her team's dorm with a frown on her face. She had things she wanted to do today, and though it was still relatively early in the morning to when she usually woke up, she really did want to get a head start on those things.

Those things would undoubtedly bring her joy and pleasure. Hanging with Jaune in Vale, sparring with Velvet (who was always the first one to start training, surprisingly), and there was also that new candy shop that opened up in Vale that she figured would take up quite a bit of her time. Mostly because of how indecisive she was. If she didn't get there early she would never be able to decide what she wanted to buy in time to catch the bullhead back to Beacon.

But of course, there was something stopping her from doing that. Just one thing; though it wasn't honestly such a bad thing. Blake was currently laying beside her with a gentle smile on her peaceful, resting face, and she had her arms wrapped so tightly around Ruby that one movement could wake her up.

Now this probably wouldn't have been so bad, had Ruby not realized that the face her girlfriend was making was horribly cute, and that disturbing her rest would be a crime worthy of the highest punishment.

And so she laid there. For about an hour after waking. Not moving a single muscle even an inch.

It was comfortable, being in Blake's arms was a great thing after all. It made her feel happy, super snug and warm, and also pretty darn safe. Which didn't mean too much since she could probably defend herself well enough (and honestly what the heck was going to happen in their dorm room?), though it was a good feeling nonetheless.

Yet no matter how comfortable it was, there was a point where comfortable became… Not so comfortable. And laying and doing nothing but stare at the ceiling for near on an hour loses its charm pretty quickly

Ruby sighed softly in defeat and shifted just a tiny bit, snuggling up to Blake as carefully as she could. If Blake wanted to sleep in, then they would sleep in. A few things could be put off until a later date. There was just some people she would do anything for. Even forfeit her precious free time for extra sleep.

Ruby pressed her back against Blake's chest and smiled as she pulled the blanket over her more securely. Blake mumbled something in her ear, and Ruby giggled before closing her eyes.


	71. Insomnia (White Rose)

"Are you still blogging?" asked Weiss from across the room, her own face still lit up by her own phone. The phone was warm in her hands, quickly becoming even more so. One earbud hung loosely down her chest as the other quietly whispered a familiar song into her ear. Ruby afforded one glance up at her, the light of her phone revealing the dark bags under her eyes. Weiss mentally flinched at the sight, Ruby shouldn't ever have to go sleepless in her mind.

"I'm not blogging," Ruby said, faux offended. Her eyes darted between Weiss and her screen as if she were trying to decide which was more important to her. Weiss' gaze hardened, and Ruby had to admit that the light from her phone made her look even scarier than usual. Ruby shook her head. "Alright fine, I'm blogging. But I can't sleep, so what does it matter?"

She glanced around their dorm, realizing just how cold and lonely it really was. It shouldn't feel like that, she and Weiss were roommates, and as boarding schools usually were, there were several other dorms in the building with even more people in them, her sister and Blake being only a few rooms away. But still, it did, that was just a fact. It always felt like that when she couldn't sleep, which seemed like it was all the time nowadays.

Weiss' gaze softened, and she stared at her own screen, her half finished text and twelve percent battery life reminding her that she was being hypocritical for the sake of her friends' health again. "Ruby, maybe they won't…"

"They will. They come every night now, and nothing makes them stop." Weiss felt her heart break at the acceptance in Ruby's voice. "They're getting worse, Weiss. I'm not so sure it's the anxiety anymore." Weiss immediately sent off a more finished version of her text and paused her music, setting her phone to sleep mode and placing it on the bedside table. She looked across to Ruby's bed and steeled herself. There had to be something she could to to help, even just one small thing. There just had to be.

"Maybe it's not," Weiss replied, getting up from her bed and walking towards Ruby's side of the room hesitantly. Ruby was still so absorbed into what was happening on her screen, she didn't notice Weiss's approach til she felt her bed shift from her weight. "Maybe your nightmares are caused by something else." Ruby didn't even bother to put her phone on sleep, it just slipped out of her hands as she drew her knees up to her chest and put her arms around them.

"Like what?" she asked, feeling a yawn well up within her chest. She let it out, but she didn't feel the least bit tired. Weiss sat next to her and assumed what was nearly the same position.

"Stress? Lack of sleep seems most likely." Ruby laughed bitterly.

"The thing that's causing the lack of sleep is the lack of sleep itself. If that's the case I put myself in this position in the first place. But I used to sleep really well before, I don't think that's it." Weiss looked away from her as her phone put itself to sleep, dropping a shroud of thick darkness on everything. As soon as her eyes adjusted, Weiss took a deep breath in thought.

"Maybe it's lack of romance?" Ruby looked up to the ceiling in silence, and Weiss could tell that she was thinking heavily about her suggestion. "Or, maybe, you know, lack of…" Ruby shook her head softly.

"Nah, I've never been very sexual before, I don't see what's changed." Weiss nodded somberly. She really was desperate to help at this point, it was clear to her that Ruby wouldn't last if this kept up. Insomnia was a special kind of hell, she should know. She was there before, once. "You know, I think you're on the right track." Weiss let out a surprised hum as Ruby looked over to her, her silver eyes seeming deep and emotional. "When I was little, my sister would sleep with me every night. When my mother died, we quickly found out that I couldn't really handle sleeping on my own. I assumed I had grown out of it, but maybe that's the problem now." Ruby looked down at her knees, studying the thin but warm material of her sleeping pants.

"Maybe," Weiss said quietly. She grabbed Ruby by her arm and pulled her down sideways, laying her down by her side. Their heads hit Ruby's pillows softly, making a soft sound on impact.

"What- Weiss?"

"If you tell anyone about this, I'll not talk to you for a week," was the only response Ruby got. Ruby smiled, and Weiss, having her eyes closed, only felt the warmth that was Ruby's arms snaking around her and pulling her closer into an embrace that she really didn't want to admit she adored. "Now, be quiet and go to sleep, okay?"

Ruby nodded, knowing that she would be reprimanded if she said anything.

' _Sure, Weiss. Thank you…'_


	72. Chapter 72

Ruby couldn't stop repeating the mantra in her head as she stared over at the small girl sitting a few desks away from her. Well, it really wasn't as much of a mantra as it was a statement. _'I'm so gay. I'm so gay. I'm so gay,'_ she thought, over and over again. The small, admittedly adorable girl just continued to stare onward as if she were the most clueless girl in the world. But Ruby knew that she knew, she had been caught several times staring at her, she had embarrassed herself several times trying to sign something that made any sense at all. As much as she didn't want to admit to it, the last time she tried to sign, she said something that must have made absolutely no sense, if the confused, almost amused look she received was of any indication.

There were only two things that Ruby knew about her. Her Name was Neopolitan, or as she preferred, Neo. That was one. The second was that the girl was mute, her vocal cords had some problem or other. But Ruby didn't really want to let that stop her, she was committed to taking this girl out on a date, and so she had tried her hardest all week to get better at signing. She had learned a whole bunch of new words, and smoothed out others. She knew she was ready. The only problem was getting her gay ass to actually do anything. Whenever she even so much as thought of trying, it was always shaky hands and blushing and confused looks that, although cute, didn't honestly do much to help her situation. Ruby wanted to believe that she could overcome these problems, but when Neo looked over and caught her staring red handed, she felt all of her drive disappear in a storm of silent sputters as her sister laughed at her misfortune.

"It's not funny!" Ruby whined, punching her sister in the shoulder. It wasn't exactly hard enough to hurt, but Yang still shied away from her fists. "This is really making me feel bad," Ruby admitted, turning her attention from Neo to her sister. "I just wish I could tell her, and I'm really, really sick of failing at doing something so simple." Yang had never had problems with this stuff, all of her past 'date mates' as she called them she had confessed to as soon as feelings had made themselves known. Ruby always found herself waiting a long time to do it, mostly out of fear of rejection, but also because of her social anxiety and general procrastination.

It was always frustrating, more frustrating than anything in fact. Ruby absolutely abhorred the feelings it gave her, and she was just about ready to give up if she couldn't at least get this girl agree to a date. Just one

Yang shrugged and sent her a comforting smile. "If it's really making you feel bad, you have no one to blame but yourself, you just gotta do it, you know? If you're really interested in her, just take a deep breath, walk up to her, and ask her out. I mean, you know she understands English, so what's the problem?"

"Well I... I really want to ask her out in a special way, you know. Just asking her would seem kind of plain, and I kind of want to make her happy, and make her feel comfortable. I want to show her that I can understand her and talk with her. The perfect way to do that is to sign it. But my hands are so shaky when I try and do that!" Yang just shrugged again, and Ruby just felt like she was getting nowhere

Class was dismissed, and Ruby knew that this was it. This was the time to do it. If she didn't do it now, her next opportunity to do it would be hours away, and as anxious as she was, she was just as impatient. She fiddled with her hands nervously, and bit her lip as she gathered her things. She knew no one else in class except the teacher and her interpreter knew ASL, and she was glad of that fact. Not a lot of people would be able to overhear it. That would have made the situation a lot harder to digest.

Ruby ran up behind her and took a deep breath as she tapped her on the shoulder. Neo turned, giving her another one of those cute, confused looks. Ruby tried her hardest not to let the cuteness distract her. She let out a shaky breath and started to sign away, hoping beyond hope that she didn't accidentally mess up. "Hi," she signed. That was all. She froze, completely unsure of just what she was going to say. She had thought everything through, aside from just how she was going to phrase the sentence itself. Was it creepy to just suddenly ask someone out? Oh sweet god it was creepy. She was being creepy, she couldn't do this, it was so sudden why'd she ever think it would work?!

She was snapped out of her panic briefly as Neo's eyes lit up brightly, and her smile grew even wider. "Hi!" she signed back. "Have you gotten any better at signing?" Ruby blushed and turned her head away from Neo as her body tensed up. Neo smirked, placing a hand on her hip. "If it makes you feel any better, not a lot of people even try. It makes me happy to know that people are still interested in talking to me." Ruby's blush dissipated, and Neo's smirk turned into a small smile again.

"I've gotten a bit better," Ruby replied focusing on her hand movements carefully. Neo's eyes seemed to hold a lot of hope that she could finally hold a decent conversation with another person. "I've just been wanting to say that I think you're really-" Neo silently giggled as Ruby's hands suddenly stopped.

"What? That you think I'm beautiful? That you want to go out with me?" Ruby was sent into another fit of blushing and sputtering. "You know, I think you're really cute too, and you've officially put in more effort than anyone has in a long time just to tell me that. In my books, I'd say that warrants a date or two." Ruby eyes widened, and she laughed nervously, not really ever thinking this far ahead. She got a date, and she didn't even have to say anything, but now she was stuck with another problem, she didn't know what to say next. Neo seemed to pick up on this, and she silently giggled again. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow, then. I have to go now, but we'll exchange numbers later. You now, for texting and junk."

Ruby watched in astonishment as Neo turned and left the room, the smirk from before present on her face. That smirk. That freaking smirk was burned into her mind. _It was so attractive. 'I'm so gay. I'm so gay. I'm so gay.'_


End file.
